ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Electoral Register

John Spellar: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission whether the Electoral Commission plans to produce standard forms for  (a) electoral registration and  (b) applications for postal votes.

Peter Viggers: The Commission informs me that it provides standard forms for electoral registration and for postal vote applications both in print and downloadable format.
	These forms are not prescribed in legislation. While electors and Electoral Registration Officers may use the Commission-supplied forms, they are under no obligation to do so. The sole registration form to be prescribed in regulations is the canvass form. The Commission does not provide this form as it is already set out in legislation.

Rackspace

Greg Hands: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what the value was of each contract awarded to Rackspace by the Electoral Commission in each of the last nine years.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that the relevant financial records are readily available only from 2003 onwards and since that time no contracts have been awarded to Rackspace.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Alcoholic Drinks

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland at how many events held by his Department  (a) wine and  (b) Fairtrade wine were served in the last three years; and what assessment his Department has made of the merits of serving Fairtrade wine at future events.

David Cairns: We serve wine at all receptions held by the Scotland Office. We have served Fairtrade wine at one reception in the past three years. The Scotland Office has a policy of using local produce wherever possible so as to reduce 'food miles' and our carbon footprint in line with Government targets for sustainable development. The wine served is organically grown and uses recycled packaging materials. We are currently drafting a policy for hospitality procurement. The policy will be designed to promote Fairtrade and sustainable development wherever possible.

Departmental Consultants

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what contracts were awarded by his Department to  (a) KPMG,  (b) PricewaterhouseCoopers,  (c) Ernst and Young,  (d) McKinsey,  (e) Deloitte and  (f) other consultancy firms in each of the last 12 months; and what the (i) purpose and (ii) value was of each of these contracts.

David Cairns: No payments were made to these companies and other firms for consultancy work during 2006-07.

Departmental Sustainable Development

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when his Department plans to publish its sustainable operations policy statement.

David Cairns: The Scotland Office is part of the Ministry of Justice for these purposes. The Ministry of Justice published its Sustainable Development Action Plan on 14 March 2008. It sets out the vision for sustainable development in the Ministry of Justice, how sustainable development will be incorporated into the operations and policy making of the Department, the key commitments and how the plan will be delivered.

Departmental Training

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many staff in his Department attended the  (a) Influencing with Integrity,  (b) Emotional Intelligence,  (c) Counselling Skills for the Workplace,  (d) Managing your Confidence,  (e) Balancing Work/Life Realities and  (f) Working Assertively training course run by the National School of Government in the last 12 months for which information is available; and at what cost.

David Cairns: None.

Departmental Video Conferencing

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will set a target to increase the use of video-conferencing by his Department to reduce the need to travel to meetings.

David Cairns: The Scotland Office encourages staff to consider video conferencing facilities first before travelling to meetings. However, this does not always prove possible and a target is not considered appropriate.

Rackspace

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the value was of each contract awarded to Rackspace by his Department in each of the last nine years.

David Cairns: Nothing.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Visitor Reception Building

Greg Knight: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission when the Cromwell Green Visitor Entrance will be opened; and what the reasons for the time taken are.

Nick Harvey: I refer the right hon. Member to the reply I gave on 10 March 2008,  Official Report, column 3W. A large scale internal trial was successfully carried out on 28 March, and limited use by the public has now begun to complete the trial programme.

TREASURY

Freedom of Information

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1489W, on Northern Rock: freedom of information, 
	(1)  how many of the 31 freedom of information requests have been refused; and what were the grounds in each case;
	(2)  in how many cases information was  (a) wholly and  (b) partly exempted; and how many requests were answered in full.

Angela Eagle: HMT assesses FOI requests on their individual merits and summary data on the Department's cases are collated and published by MoJ on a quarterly basis. Since your previous request further FOI requests have been received.
	Many of these requests seek extensive amounts of information and exceed the costs regime for processing FOI requests. In these cases, requestors have been invited to narrow their requests to bring them within the cost limit. Other requests seek information that has already been published or information that the Government intend to publish in the future; in six cases HMT has refused in full as the information sought comprised information provided to the Government in confidence, commercially sensitive information, and policy advice where the policy process is yet to conclude.

Departmental Data Protection

Michael Weir: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether confidential or personal information has been compromised through the loss of property from his Department since 1997.

Angela Eagle: Other than in exceptional cases, when it is in the public interest, it has been the policy of successive governments not to comment on breaches of security. However, following the publication of the Data Handling Procedures in Government: Interim Progress Report on 17 December 2007,  Official Report, column 98WS, all Departments will cover information assurance issues in their annual reports.

Departmental Plants

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on pot plants in each of the last five years.

Angela Eagle: For information on 2006-07 I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by the former Financial Secretary to the Treasury, my hon. Friend the Member for Wentworth (John Healey), on 7 November 2006,  Official Report, column 1022W. For information on 2005-06 I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond) on 2 May 2007,  Official Report, column 1743W. Information on earlier years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Economic Situation

Michael Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to contribute to  (a) tackling the turbulence in the international financial markets and  (b) preventing such crises in future.

Angela Eagle: holding answer 18 March 2008
	On 30 January 2008 the Treasury, Bank of England and the FSA published the consultation paper Financial stability and depositor protection: strengthening the framework. It includes proposals related to strengthening the stability and resilience of international financial markets and preventing crises in the future. The Government have also taken actions to address problems in the markets for mortgage backed securities (MBS). On 6 March the Government introduced new regulations for covered bonds, which will increase the pool of potential investors and strengthen market confidence in the longer term. The Government announced at Budget a Working Group that will take forward market initiatives to improve liquidity in the MBS market. Financial market turbulence has been global and also demands a global response. That is why the Government support, and is heavily involved in, the EC and G7 work programmes aimed at improving the stability and resilience of the financial system for the future.

Northern Rock: Consultants

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for how long Goldman Sachs will be retained in its role as financial adviser to HM Treasury on Northern Rock.

Angela Eagle: The financial adviser in question will be retained for as long as necessary for the purpose of restructuring of Northern Rock, as is normal and proper in company restructuring of a similar scale to this.

Northern Rock: Nationalisation

Greg Hands: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer who among his ministerial team has lead responsibility for Northern Rock while in temporary public ownership; if he will take steps to provide for the answering of oral questions by that Minister on Northern Rock under arrangements equivalent to those established for the Minister for the Olympics; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: Responsibility rests with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, assisted by other Treasury Ministers as appropriate. The Chancellor has undertaken to keep the House informed of developments relating to Northern Rock. He has no plans to change the arrangements for answering parliamentary questions on the matter.

Norwich Union

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has had discussions with Norwich Union and the Prudential on their inherited estate proposals; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: The management of the insurance inherited estate is a matter for the Regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), which sets the rules covering the management of with-profits funds.

Private Finance Initiative: Liability

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the timescale is for ensuring that private finance initiative and private public partnership liabilities will henceforth be recorded as Government liabilities.

Angela Eagle: Budget 2008 announced that from 2009-10 the annual accounts of Government Departments would be prepared using International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adapted as necessary for the public sector.
	The accounting guidance in relation to private finance initiative and public private partnership (PPP) under IFRS is being finalised. The Treasury is working with the Financial Reporting Advisory Board to include the guidance in the IFRS based Government Financial Reporting Manual. It will form the basis for determining the appropriate balance sheet treatment of all PFI and PPP liabilities.

Tobacco: Belgium

Michael Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make representations to the relevant EU Commissioner on the effects on independent tobacco retailers in the United Kingdom of illegal sales of tobacco imported from Belgium.

Angela Eagle: holding answer 26 March  2008
	HM Revenue and Customs has a strategy in place to tackle tobacco smuggling which was refreshed at Budget 2006 when the Government published a paper 'New Responses to New Challenges: Reinforcing the Tackling Tobacco Smuggling Strategy'. New measures have recently been introduced to address the smuggling of tobacco from other countries, including legislation which places an obligation on tobacco manufacturers not to facilitate smuggling, and the incorporation of a covert anti-counterfeit security mark on packs of cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco. The introduction of the security mark supports legitimate retailers by creating a deterrent to counterfeit products infiltrating the retail supply chain.
	In addition, HM Revenue and Customs is committed to supporting legitimate businesses and in this context works closely with the Tobacco Alliance: Retailers Against Smuggling'.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Subsidies

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans his Department has for provision of financial support to farms after 2013.

Jonathan R Shaw: Decisions on financial support to farms under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) post-2013 will be reached during the EU future financing negotiations for 2014-20, which should commence in 2010-11.
	The joint DEFRA/Treasury Vision for the CAP, published in 2005, envisages the abolition of Pillar 1, including direct support payments to farmers, by 2015-20. A central tenet of this Vision is that farmers should be rewarded by the market for their outputs, and by the taxpayer only for producing societal benefits that the market cannot deliver. Our Vision foresees that with Pillar 1 abolished, residual EU spending on agriculture would be based on Pillar 2.

Atlantis Initiative

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on his Department's initiative of the Atlantis Initiative; which other Government Departments and other bodies participate in it; what funding has been allocated to it; and who co-ordinates this Initiative.

Phil Woolas: Atlantis is a combined initiative by organisations within Government to make data more readily accessible to support flooding and water management.
	Organisations in the Atlantis Initiative are Ordnance Survey, the Met Office, the British Geological Survey, the Hydrographic Office, the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and the Environment Agency.
	There is no funding available to the Atlantis Initiative. Co-ordination is through a Programme Executive Board made up of chief executives of each organisation or their representatives.

Birds: Trade

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of the EU ban on wild bird imports on the illegal wildlife trade in birds in the UK; what research his Department has conducted on the matter; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 31 March 2008
	In December 2006, DEFRA let a contract to assess the impact of the restrictions brought in by Commission Regulation 318/2007 in March 2007. The contractors were asked to assess the impact of the current import ban on wild birds on illegal trade levels, as well as the related risk of the introduction of exotic diseases to native and domestic bird populations. Completion of the report was delayed to enable the contractors more time to obtain and assess data. The contractors draft report has however now been submitted to DEFRA, and it is being considered to ensure its accuracy and that the contract terms have been met. It is anticipated that the report will be finalised and published either in April or May. In addition, Government continue to support the national wildlife crime unit which acts as a monitor on the illegal trade in such species in the UK.

Bluetongue Disease: Disease Control

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what contingency arrangements are in place for higher than expected demand for bluetongue vaccinations.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 25 March  2008
	At this stage it is difficult to forecast the extent to which Bluetongue will have spread geographically by the time vaccine is delivered, or what demand for vaccine will be. However, following some estimates of likely take-up of vaccine from industry and expert recommendations on where we could expect the disease to be present this year, we have ordered 20 million doses for use in England (and a further 2.5 million doses are reserved for use in Wales). The UK was the first member state affected by the current outbreak to place an order for vaccine. We are considering with industry how best to secure future supplies.

Bluetongue Disease: Disease Control

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for how many serotypes of bluetongue a vaccine is available; and for how many serotypes vaccine research is being conducted.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 25 March 2008
	Live attenuated vaccines have been developed for most Bluetongue serotypes. However, we would not normally consider using live vaccines as a disease control measure as there are significant potential risks associated with them.
	We are aware of inactivated vaccines which have been developed for Bluetongue serotypes 1 and 4. An inactivated vaccine is currently being developed and produced for serotype 8, the serotype currently in circulation in parts of England, and the UK has placed an order with Intervet for 22.5 million doses.

Bluetongue Disease: Disease Control

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the  (a) wholesale and  (b) final on-farm price of bluetongue vaccine in (i) 50 ml and (ii) 20 ml bottles.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 25 March 2008
	The vaccine we have ordered from Intervet will be available in 50 ml and 20 ml bottles, and livestock keepers will be able to purchase vaccine through their private vets via veterinary wholesalers. The wholesale "list" price is likely to be £22.02 for the 50 ml bottles and £13.10 for the 20 ml bottles. However, it is expected that the final on-farm price is likely to be between £27.50 and £33.00 for the 50 ml bottles (i.e. around 55 to 66 pence per ml) and between £16.35 and £19.65 for the 20 ml bottles (i.e. around 82 to 98 pence per ml) plus VAT. This will allow the wholesalers and veterinary organisations to cover the overhead, handling and administration charges throughout the distribution process. The on-farm price will be dependent on arrangements between keepers, their private vets and veterinary wholesalers.

Bluetongue Disease: Vaccinations

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the merits of a compulsory national vaccination programme against bluetongue disease.

Jonathan R Shaw: In collaboration with a core group of industry stakeholders, the Government fully considered the option of a compulsory vaccination programme. However, this would cost the farming industry at least 50 per cent. more than voluntary vaccination and, because of the associated increase in regulatory burdens, would slow down the distribution of vaccine in a situation where speed will be of the essence. Moreover, the lack of scientific evidence to support an immediate prospect of eradication through vaccination suggests that the case for compulsion is weak.
	Together with the core group, the Government have therefore developed a vaccination plan that avoids the negative consequences of compulsion, but promotes mass take-up of the vaccine through an industry-led campaign.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of agricultural land comprises farms affected by bovine tuberculosis in the last 12 months.

Jonathan R Shaw: This information is not held by DEFRA or Animal Health.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farms in  (a) England,  (b) Cumbria and  (c) Copeland have recorded cases of bovine tuberculosis over the last five years.

Jonathan R Shaw: The number of individual new bovine TB herd breakdowns in England and Cumbria in each of the last five years is given in the following table. It is not possible to break the data down to a constituency level.
	
		
			  Number of new bovine TB herd breakdowns 
			   England  Cumbria 
			 2003 2,516 70 
			 2004 2,612 65 
			 2005(1) 2,904 41 
			 2006(1) 2,721 28 
			 2007(1) 3,183 15 
			 (1) 2005-07 figures are provisional and subject to change as more data becomes available.  Source: Animal Health database (Vetnet)

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how his Department plans to reduce the spread of bovine tuberculosis involving badgers.

Jonathan R Shaw: Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a complex issue which must be considered in the round, not in terms of badger culling versus cattle controls. We know that the disease can be spread by both cattle and badgers.
	Our improved cattle control measures, including pre-movement testing and the increased use of the gamma interferon blood test, are having a positive effect by helping detect infected animals that would otherwise have been missed. We have also been working with stakeholders to raise awareness of simple biosecurity measures to keep cattle and badgers apart. We intend to continue to work with farmers and vets to encourage a high level of compliance with these vital measures.
	We are also investing in an extensive programme of research, including improved diagnosis of the disease and developing a vaccine for cattle and/or badgers.
	No decision has yet been made on badger culling to control TB in cattle. However, we are carefully considering all the evidence, including the Final Report of the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB, the assessment of the evidence on badger culling produced by the former Chief Scientific Adviser, and the recently published report of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.
	Any decision will need to take account of the impact of any proposed measure on the disease, the science, public acceptability and the practicalities of implementation. Whatever the decision, cattle controls will continue to be vital in our fight against bTB.

Carbon Emissions: Companies

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of  (a) the performance of and  (b) the methods used by energy companies in achieving their energy efficiency commitments.

Phil Woolas: Ofgem administers the Energy Efficiency Commitment. For EEC2, which is due to finish on 31 March 2008, Ofgem has published regular quarterly updates on the progress made by suppliers to meet their targets. The latest report was published in February 2008 and indicates that all suppliers have met their non-priority group targets, but that, with one quarter remaining, there was still some activity remaining in the priority group. Ofgem will publish the final report on EEC2, with details of insulation and other measures employed, in July 2008.

Departmental Advertising

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which of his Department's initiatives have been advertised to the public in each of the last 10 years; and what the cost of each such campaign was.

Jonathan R Shaw: The core departmental expenditure on advertising initiatives for the past four available financial years are listed in the following table:
	
		
			  Campaign  Financial year  Spend (£) 
			 Are you Doing Your Bit 2002-03 141 
			 Illegal Imports 2002-03 293,143 
			 Illegal Meat Imports 2003-04 119,146 
			 FMD Exercise 2004-05 4,145 
			 Passports for Horses 2004-05 46,719 
			 Climate Change 2005-06 661,120 
			 Environment Direct 2005-06 221,337 
			 Illegal Food Imports 2005-06 75,030 
			 Climate Change 2006-07 627,216 
			 One Planet Living 2006-07 459,659 
			 Environment Direct 2006-07 89,773 
			 Illegal Meats 2006-07 38,582 
		
	
	This includes communications on a wide range of matters, much of it necessary or beneficial to the public and the wide range of industries in which DEFRA has an interest, together with local government, voluntary organisations and other bodies.
	Individual records of spend for DEFRA's non-departmental public bodies, agencies and financially sponsored organisations are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Flood Control: Finance

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what access to the Environment Agency's national flood and coastal defence database is provided to insurance companies.

Phil Woolas: Insurance companies do not have direct access to data from the national flood and coastal defence database.
	Some specific datasets and associated attributes (for example, historic flood events and spatial flood defences) have been approved for access and are, therefore, available under licence from the Environment Agency. The Association of British Insurers have been made aware of these.
	Any other requests for information from the national flood and coastal defence database are assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Floods: Housing

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with insurance industry representatives on proposals within the Thames Gateway Interim Plan area to build homes in areas vulnerable to flooding; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: DEFRA is involved in discussions with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) at official and ministerial level. The Government works with the ABI to maximise the availability of flood insurance cover which remains available to the great majority of households in areas of flood risk.
	The Environment Agency has had continued dialogue with the ABI regarding the Thames Estuary 2100 Project. Both the ABI and individual insurers have been invited to participate in Environment Agency consultations which have been designed to develop the draft Final Plan (which will, in turn, go out to consultation in spring 2009).
	The Environment Agency has not had specific engagement with the ABI regarding current development and flood risk in the Thames Gateway, but the Agency does apply the guidance set out in PPS25 (Development and Flood Risk).

Foot and Mouth Disease: Finance

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his most recent estimate is of the financial cost to the farming industry of the foot and mouth outbreaks in 2007.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA's current estimate of the economic cost to the UK livestock sector of the movement restrictions and the ban on exports, imposed as a result of foot and mouth disease and bluetongue, is over £100 million.

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much has been paid to firms involved in the Warm Front scheme.

Phil Woolas: Warm Front spend since the scheme's inception in 2000 is outlined as following:
	
		
			  Scheme year  Approximate total spend/budget (£ million) 
			 2000-01 72 
			 2001-02 197 
			 2002-03 163 
			 2003-04 164 
			 2004-05 166 
			 2005-06 192 
			 2006-07 320 
			 2007-08 350

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what procedures are in place to ensure that work carried out by contractors for the Warm Front scheme is done by qualified staff.

Phil Woolas: Installers working on Warm Front must hold current qualifications to professionally recognised standards, such as Corgi, NICEIC and BBA, and as a minimum must carry £10 million Employers and £3 million Public/Products Insurance liability cover.
	Installers are audited twice yearly on operational, financial and health and safety practises, which include random checks of works carried out and the qualifications of persons who undertake them.

Meteorological Office: Floods

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who co-ordinates work on flooding carried out by  (a) the Meteorological Office and  (b) Ordnance Survey.

Phil Woolas: The Environment Agency is responsible for providing the lead on fluvial and coastal flooding.
	The Environment Agency works closely both with the Met Office and Ordnance Survey who provide weather information and mapping information respectively. This is then used to aid the Environment Agency in their decision making on flood-related work.

Nanotechnology

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will bring forward the timing of the decision on moving to a compulsory reporting scheme on nanotechnologies.

Phil Woolas: The Department intends to review the voluntary reporting scheme on nanotechnologies in October 2008, as planned. However, in liaison with industry and academia, we are currently seeking to remove disincentives to reporting by simplifying the guidance and providing assistance with completing the documentation.

Ozone Layer: EC Law

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department has taken to implement EC Regulation 2037/2000 on the disposal of ozone depleting substances.

Phil Woolas: EC Regulation 2037/2000 on ozone-depleting substances is directly applicable in the UK. This includes Article 16, which deals with the recovery for destruction or for recycling or reclamation of ozone-depleting substances. Under separate national regulations applicable to Great Britain and Northern Ireland, any person having control of such substances has a duty to comply with Article 16. Any person who fails to do so is committing an offence.

Thermal Insulation: Housing

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with  (a) Ofgem,  (b) energy companies and  (c) the devolved administrations on the insulation of hard-to-treat homes; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: My ministerial colleagues and I have had regular discussions with Ofgem, energy companies and the devolved administrations as part of developing the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT), launched on 1 April. CERT has been specifically designed to encourage suppliers to promote innovative measures appropriate to hard to treat homes, such as solid wall insulation and heat pumps, by way of an uplift in scores. Suppliers can also use an option in the Priority Group, under which they receive a further uplift for solid wall insulation installed in the homes of those on benefits or for ground source heat pumps installed in the homes of those on benefits and off the gas grid.
	Equally, the Government's review of the Fuel Poverty Strategy is exploring the role of alternative technologies in alleviating fuel poverty, including those who could not be assisted by established insulation or heating measures.

Thermal Insulation: Housing

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of feasible methods of insulating hard-to-treat homes; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: Finding innovative, cost-effective and attractive ways of insulating hard to treat homes will be core to both our carbon saving and fuel poverty alleviation ambitions. To inform policy development and stimulate market transformation:
	we commissioned a study from the Building Research Establishment to look at the extent of hard to treat homes in England and to consider different technical options for treating them. Part one of the study (on the extent) has already been published with the second part to be published in the summer;
	we included an innovation ring-fence and flexibility option under the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target to allow suppliers to trial more expensive measures—we expect 150,000 households to benefit from Solid Wall Insulation under CERT;
	we are providing the Energy Saving Trust with £1 million under the Environmental Transformation Fund to support market research into several innovative efficiency products, including the development and field trials of alternative forms of solid wall insulation, and;
	Warm Front, the Government's main programme for eradicating fuel poverty in vulnerable households, has mechanisms in place to locate and assess the suitability of alternative technologies for use in the scheme, with a particular emphasis on those that could potentially provide solutions for hard-to-treat properties. As part of this process, we are currently piloting solar thermal units in off-gas property.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Advertising

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which of his Department's initiatives have been advertised to the public; and what the cost of each such campaign was in each of the last 10 years.

Shaun Woodward: The information requested is not available for the last 10 years. The following table provides information on the initiatives which have been advertised to the public by the Northern Ireland Office and its agencies for the period 2004-05 to 2006-07.
	
		
			   Initiatives Advertised to the Public  Cost (£) 
			 2004-05 Stay Safe Stay Secure 56,777.80 
			  Theft from Vehicles 88,918.96 
			  Total 145,696.76 
			
			 2005-06 Unknown Caller TV Ad 104,935.29 
			  Theft from Vehicles 86,365.57 
			  Community Safety Week 26,196.00 
			  Neighbourhood Watch Signs 12,996.00 
			  Project RIOH 8,415.35 
			  Tackling antisocial behaviour leaflet 3,200.00 
			  Newry Plasma Screen 60,000.00 
			  Youth Conference TV advert 47,100.00 
			  Total 349,208.21 
			
			 2006-07 Domestic Violence(1) 50,000.00 
			  Knife Carrying(1) 58,000.00 
			  Project RIOH 57,081.79 
			  Domestic Burglary 51,298.89 
			  Theft from Vehicles 30,000.00 
			  HIPA Scheme 6,186.09 
			  Business Crime Postcards 6,894.53 
			  Message in a Bottle 25,843.00 
			  Crime Prevention and Home Safety Tips for Older People 1,298.00 
			  SOS Bus 42,553.19 
			  Community Safety Magazine 4,784.00 
			  Total 333,939.49 
			
			 (1) The NIO jointly funded these campaigns with the DHSSPS and PSNI—amounts shown are the NIO's contribution to the campaigns.

Departmental Domestic Visits

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what visits he made to  (a) Harrogate International Centre,  (b) International Conference Centre, Birmingham,  (c) Manchester Central,  (d) Scottish Exhibitional and Conference Centre, Glasgow,  (e) Edinburgh International Conference Centre,  (f) Bournemouth International Conference Centre,  (g) the Brighton Centre, Brighton,  (h) the Riviera Centre, Torquay,  (i) Queen Elizabeth Centre, London,  (j) Excel Conference Centre, Docklands, London, and  (k) Business Design Centre, Islington, London, in the period 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2007; and what events he attended at each.

Shaun Woodward: My predecessor attended a summit of the British Irish Council at the Excel Conference Centre, London, on 2 June 2006.
	Neither myself, nor my predecessors have visited any of the other listed venues in a ministerial capacity between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2007.

Departmental Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the hourly rates of pay of all non-permanent staff working for his Department were in each of the last 12 months; and how many staff were receiving each rate in each of those months.

Shaun Woodward: The hourly rates paid to employment agencies for agency staff used by the Department varies from agency to agency and is not readily available, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The hourly rates paid to staff on fixed term contracts and on temporary contracts for less than 51 weeks in each of the last 12 months could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The following table provides a snapshot of the position in two particular months over the last 12 months.
	
		
			   Hourly rate of pay  Number of staff 
			  March 2007 £17.26 3 
			  £15.82 1 
			  £13.72 1 
			  £11.48 1 
			  £11.32 1 
			  £9.38 1 
			  £7.88 1 
			  £5.51 21 
			 Total  30 
			
			  February 2008 £18.25 2 
			  £17.79 1 
			  £16.25 1 
			  £14.02 1 
			  £11.87 1 
			  £11.75 1 
			  £11.60 3 
			  £8.23 1 
			  £5.78 15 
			 Total  26

Departmental Pensions

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many and what percentage of staff in his Department were making additional voluntary contributions to their pensions in each of the last two years.

Shaun Woodward: There were 65 members of staff in the Northern Ireland Office (3 per cent. of the total number of staff employed by the Department) making additional voluntary pension contributions through deductions from their pay in February 2007.
	This has decreased to 63 members of staff (but remains at 3 per cent. of the total number of staff employed by the Department) who were making additional voluntary pension contributions through deductions from their pay in February 2008.

Departmental Sustainable Development

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when his Department plans to publish its sustainable operations policy statement.

Shaun Woodward: My Department has aligned itself with the NI Sustainable Development Strategy and Implementation Plan, launched by the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, my right hon. Friend the Member for Neath (Mr. Hain) in 2006, and now being taken forward by the NI Executive.
	The NI Executive is currently carrying out a review of its approach to Sustainable Development and as part of that process has asked Departments to revise their policy statements. The NIO is revising its policy statement and when this exercise is completed we will place a copy of the new statement on the NIO website and in the House of Commons Library.

Departmental Training

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff in his Department have attended the  (a) Influencing with Integrity,  (b) Emotional Intelligence,  (c) Counselling Skills for the Workplace,  (d) Managing your Confidence,  (e) Balancing Work/Life Realities and  (f) Working Assertively training course run by the National School of Government in the last 12 months for which information is available; and at what cost.

Shaun Woodward: One person attended the Managing your Confidence training course in the past 12 months at a cost of £1,149.

Departmental Video Conferencing

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will set a target to increase the use of video-conferencing by his Department to reduce the need to travel to meetings.

Shaun Woodward: My Department makes regular use of the video conference facilities it has in its offices in Belfast and London. These facilities are capable of handling multi person meetings and therefore significantly reduce the level of travelling required between both locations. Staff are actively encouraged to use these facilities to reduce travel cost and save time. The possibility of a VCR meeting is always considered before travel is approved.
	The amount of travel undertaken fluctuates depending on business pressures at the time, and some meetings can only be effectively undertaken face to face, therefore I do not believe it is possible to set targets in this area.
	The NIO participates in the DEFRA-managed Government Carbon Offsetting Scheme which offsets the carbon emissions from ministerial and official air travel.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Departmental Publications

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what guidance is issued to members of his Department on the authorship and publication on the internet of material relating to their official duties; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: All authorship and publication by Department for International Development (DFID) staff of material which draws on official information or experiences is governed by the Civil Service Code, which states:
	"You must not:...disclose official information without authority. This duty continues to apply after you leave the Civil Service".
	Guidance to DFID staff states that if they wish to publish books or other works (articles, electronic media including blogs, broadcasts etc.) which draw on official information or experiences, they must, at the outset, apply for permission to do so from the Director of Finance and Corporate Performance (FCPD). If initial permission is granted, they must then submit the final text for scrutiny and clearance to the Director FCPD before proceeding with the publication.

Departmental Publications

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to his answer of 20 March 2008,  Official Report, column 1273W, on departmental publications, if he will place in the Library a copy in electronic format of his Department's web-based staff handbook.

Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 20 March 2008,  Official Report, column 1273W. The Department for International Development's staff handbook has been replaced by a new web-based system, PeopleSight, that provides a wide variety of information for DFID staff. This information could be downloaded only at disproportionate cost.
	However, I have arranged to place in the Library a document setting out the contents of PeopleSight.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what contribution his Department plans to make to the United Nations Development Programme Trust Fund to support the work of the Quartet Special Envoy in financial year 2008-09; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: There are currently no plans to allocate more support to the United Nations Development Programme Trust Fund in addition to the £400,000 provided in 2007. The UK, however, continues to give vital assistance to the office of the Quartet Special Envoy, including the key secondment positions of chief of staff and governance adviser.
	The joint Department for International Development (DFID) and World Bank New Market Development project is one of the 'confidence building measures' promoted by the Quartet Special Envoy. Through this project, DFID will provide £3 million in matching grants for Palestinian firms and business associations over three years.

Overseas Aid

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to the answer of 19 February 2008,  Official Report, column 609W, on overseas aid, when he expects to announce the funding allocated to civil society through the Partnership Programme Agreement for 2008-09 to 2010-11; and whether he expects this allocation to increase in proportion to the overall change in his Department's expenditure.

Shahid Malik: We informed Partnership Programme Agreement (PPA) partners on 28 February about their PPA funding allocation for 2008-09 to 2010-11. Each PPA partner will receive an increase of 3 per cent. per year over this period.
	I anticipate that overall support to civil society through central schemes over the next three years will grow by around 50 per cent. in line with overall growth in the Department's expenditure.

United Nations Development Programme Trust Fund

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 20 March 2008, to question 195258, on the United Nations Development Programme Trust Fund, what the  (a) grade and  (b) pay band was of the civil servant seconded from his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The civil servant seconded was employed at grade A1. The pay scale for this grade for 2005-06 was £49,189 to £62,728.

TRANSPORT

Aircraft: Air Conditioning

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport who has advised her Department on air cabin quality and possible contamination in the last five years; to which institutions they are affiliated; which other organisations they have advised over that period; and which of those organisations operate on a commercial basis.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 31 March 2008
	The advice the Department is acting upon comes from two sources; the Committee on Toxicity, an independent scientific committee that provides advice to the Food Standards Agency and Government Departments, and whose evidence review into cabin air was published in September 2007; and the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee whose report into Air Travel and Health was published in December 2007. Following this advice the Department is developing cabin air sampling research with a number of participating airlines to assemble real time data on substances which may be in cabin air during fume events. We are taking technical advice from a research team and steering group on how to collect and analyse the air samples.

Airports: Security

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passengers went through airport security in Great Britain in the last 12 months; how many of them had their hold luggage searched by hand; and how many  (a) arrests,  (b) charges and  (c) convictions arose from these searches.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The National Aviation Security Programme requires that all passengers departing from a UK airport must pass through security and their cabin and hold baggage must be screened prior to being allowed on to an aircraft. The Government do not maintain any records of the number of passengers passing through security or how many had their hold baggage hand searched or any consequences arising from this.

Bus Services

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what dates since 1 January 2007  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials met representatives from (i) Stagecoach, (ii) First Group, (iii) Go-Ahead and (iv) Arriva to discuss bus-related matters.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 20 March 2008
	Ministers and officials have met representatives from these companies on many occasions since 1 January 2007 to discuss bus-related matters.

Car Sharing

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps the Government have taken to encourage car sharing.

Rosie Winterton: Car sharing is one of the sustainable travel measures ('Smarter Choices') being promoted by the Department. We encourage local authorities to include schemes, such as car sharing, in their local transport plans. The Government provide Local Transport Plan funding through the integrated transport block grant (£372 million in 2008-09) and the transport component of the revenue support grant. It is for local authorities to decide how they spend this money. We have provided best practice advice and guidance, including 'Making Car Sharing and Car Clubs Work' in 2005.
	On 20 March the Secretary of State opened the UK's first motorway high occupancy vehicle lane on M606/62 between Bradford and Leeds. We will continue to consider such lanes for use across the network alongside other measures.
	Transport Direct provides links to car sharing organisations, which are provided along with the results of journey plans. We also propose this year to develop car sharing messages under the ACT ON CO2 campaign. Car sharing can be an important part of workplace, school and other travel plans. As such we have included it in guidance on travel planning, such as the Essential Guide to Travel Planning, and promote it via our National Business Travel Network.

Dartford Tunnel: Tolls

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate she has made of the net change in annual revenue of ceasing to levy the Dartford Crossing toll.

Rosie Winterton: Ceasing to levy the Dartford-Thurrock River Crossing Road User Charge would mean there was no annual revenue. Revenue for 2006-07 was £69.0 million.

Departmental Manpower

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many members of her departmental staff, in each pay band, have been working on high speed rail links from London to Birmingham, Manchester and Scotland in each of the last five years.

Tom Harris: holding answer 19 March 2008
	Departmental staff work on matters relating to inter-urban rail, though none have been dedicated to work on high-speed rail links.
	The Secretary of State recently invited Network Rail to begin work to develop a better understanding of some of the complex rail options, such as new lines, that we may have in future.

Departmental Publications

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance is issued to members of her Department on the authorship and publication on the internet of material relating to their official duties; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: In pursuing Transformational Government's objectives to rationalise the web presence of Government Departments, our aim is to ensure that any new departmental information published online is published on either the DfT/Executive Agency websites for corporate content; Directgov, for citizen-facing content; and Business Link, for business-facing content.
	We publish material in accordance with cross-Government guidance on propriety and the Civil Service Code. In addition, our departmental intranet provides guidance on how to get content published on the website. This guidance sets out the steps involved, which include the need for ministerial approval and procedures for converting documents into HTML (in accordance with Government web guidelines).

Departmental Sustainable Development

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when her Department plans to publish its sustainable operations policy statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport's sustainable operations policy statement was published on 25 October 2007 and is available for viewing on the DfT website as follows:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/sr/susopsdftest

Departmental Training

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff in her Department and its agencies have attended the  (a) Influencing with Integrity,  (b) Emotional Intelligence,  (c) Counselling Skills for the Workplace,  (d) Managing your Confidence,  (e) Balancing Work/Life Realities and  (f) Working Assertively training course run by the National School of Government in the last 12 months for which information is available; and at what cost.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The total number of staff in the Central Department for Transport and its agencies who have attended the aforementioned National School of Government courses over the last 12 months, and the costs are set out in the table:
	
		
			   Working Assertively  Managing your Confidence  Influencing with Integrity  Emotional Intelligence  
			  Department/ Agency  Number  Cost (£)  Number  Cost (£)  Number  Cost (£)  Number  Cost (£)  Total (£) 
			 Department for Transport (C) 1 726 1 1,149 3 2,178 0 0 4,053 
			 Driving Standards Agency 0 0 0 0 1 726 0 0 726 
			 Highways Agency 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1,495 1,495 
			 Vehicle and Operator Services Agency 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1,495 1,495

Departmental Travel

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much her Department and its agencies spent on first class travel in the last 12 months for which figures are available, broken down by staff grade.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Travel arrangements are made in the most efficient and cost effective way, all official travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Department/agency staff handbook.
	DfT(C) and five of its agencies do not record travel expenditure differentiated by staff grade or class of travel. The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Two of the Department's agencies record first class travel separately. DVLA spent £431,000 during the last 12 months, but do not record staff grade. Highways Agency spent a total of £1,780,142 broken down as follows:
	
		
			  Grade (HA Pay Band)  Value (£) 
			 2 12,341 
			 3 42,984 
			 4 56,770 
			 5 228,786 
			 6 627,062 
			 7 449,401 
			 8 181,196 
			 SCS 111,251 
			 Non civil servants 70,351 
		
	
	These figures do not include costs paid for by the individual and reclaimed through a travel and subsistence claim. Details of this additional expenditure could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Driver Information Systems

Stephen Ladyman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans she has to publish her conclusions arising from the consultation on in-vehicle information systems.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department intends to publish a summary of the results of the initial consultation on in-vehicle information systems this spring. It will be available on the departmental website and copies will be sent to the Libraries of both Houses.

Drivers: Training

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many new light goods vehicle drivers were trained in the last 12 months; and how many foreign light goods vehicle drivers were working in the UK.

Jim Fitzpatrick: DVLA does not keep information on LGV driver training nor can we identify the number of foreign LGV drivers working in the UK. We do, however record volumes of applications being processed for vocational drivers, which includes both LGV and PCV.
	For the 12 month period ending December 2007, the number of first applications processed for vocational drivers was 73,475. This figure includes 60,119 provisional and 13,356 substantive applications.

Driving: Safety

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps the Government has taken to educate the public on the possible effects of driving long distances when tired.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department for Transport continues to educate the public on the possible effects of driving long distances when tired through the THINK! road safety education campaign and motorway variable message signs. Drivers are encouraged to plan regular breaks on long journeys through a mix of:
	Radio advertising;
	Ambient advertising in service stations;
	Online advertising on journey planning websites;
	Partnership marketing activity;
	Truck Back advertising;
	Public relations activity; and
	Distribution of promotional materials to road safety stakeholders for regional campaigns and the general public.
	Advice on how to avoid and combat driver tiredness is in the Highway Code and on the Department's THINK! website at:
	www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk/campaigns/drivertiredness/drivertiredness.htm

Environment Agency: Heathrow Airport

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the Environment Agency's response to the Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport consultation; and what steps she plans to take as a result.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 31 March 2008
	We have received many thousands of responses to our recent consultation on further development at Heathrow and these are still being analysed. No decisions will be taken until we are in a position to consider the totality of responses.

Heathrow Airport: Carbon Emissions

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons the Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport consultation document did not refer to the effects of incoming international flights in estimating the likely impact of a third runway on carbon dioxide emissions.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 31 March 2008
	The method used to estimate the impact of additional capacity at Heathrow on UK aviation CO2 emissions in the 'Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport' consultation document is referenced at paragraph 2.23 of the impact assessment (annex B). Full details of the forecasting method can be found in chapter 3 of 'UK Air Passenger Demand and CO2 Forecasts', available at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/aviation/environmentalissues/ukairdemandandco2forecasts/
	There is no internationally agreed way to allocate to individual countries the CO2 emissions from international flights. For reporting purposes, the UN framework convention on climate change requires each nation to report emissions based on aviation bunker fuel consumption, which is closely related to fuel used on departing flights. To ensure consistency with historic reported totals, and to avoid double-counting CO2 emissions, our forecasts include international aviation emissions on a departing flight only basis.

Heathrow Airport: Complaints

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many complaints the Government received over delays and inefficiencies at Heathrow Airport in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 25 March 2008
	The Department for Transport receive a number of letters about a variety of issues at airports e.g. baggage, disability issues, security, passenger information, delays; and these are sometimes taken up with the airport, airline or agency most concerned. The information requested can be obtained only at disproportionate cost as these letters are not filed by airports.

Lorries

Gwyneth Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans she has to implement the findings of the recently published study by her Department of trials of longer, heavier vehicles.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The report of the study is due to be published shortly. Its purpose is to inform policy making rather than to advise on whether to allow trials. At present, we have no plans to introduce longer or heavier vehicles.

Lorries

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles were travelled by heavy goods vehicles in England in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The following table provides the total distance travelled by heavy goods vehicles in England from 2002 to 2006.
	
		
			   Heavy Goods Vehicles (billion vehicle miles) 
			 2002 15.3 
			 2003 15.4 
			 2004 15.8 
			 2005 15.6 
			 2006 15.6

Lorries: Accidents

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many  (a) deaths and  (b) injuries have been caused by other vehicles hitting a heavy goods vehicle in each of the last 10 years; how many of these were attributed to poor visibility; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The numbers of  (a) killed and  (b) injured casualties resulting from reported personal injury road accidents involving at least one heavy goods vehicle and at least one other motor vehicle in Great Britain in 1997 to 2006 are shown in the following table. It is not possible to determine the number of these accidents in which a heavy goods vehicle was hit by (rather than hit) another vehicle.
	
		
			  Number of casualties 
			   Killed  Injured( 1) 
			 1997 399 15,580 
			 1998 441 15,350 
			 1999 465 16,244 
			 2000 412 16,334 
			 2001 415 15,850 
			 2002 380 14,453 
			 2003 391 14,317 
			 2004 321 13,413 
			 2005 370 13,014 
			 2006 302 12,094 
			 (1) Seriously or slightly injured 
		
	
	Details of contributory factors to road accidents have been recorded since 2005. In 2005 there were a total of 21 fatalities and 700 people injured in accidents involving at least one heavy goods vehicle and at least one other motor vehicle which had "vision affected" recorded as a contributory factor. In 2006, the equivalent figures were 14 fatalities and 669 people injured.
	The contributory factor category "vision affected by" includes contributory factors "stationary or parked vehicle(s)", "Vegetation", "Road layout (e.g. bend, winding road, hill crest)", "Buildings, road signs, street furniture", "Dazzling headlights", "Dazzling sun", "Rain, sleet, snow or fog", "Spray from other vehicles", "Visor or windscreen dirty or scratched" and "Vehicle blind spot".
	Further information about contributory factors can be found in the 'Contributory factors to road accidents' article in 'Road Casualties Great Britain' at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/162259/162469/221412/221549/227755/rcgb2006v1.pdf

Motor Vehicles: Fines

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what arrangements are in place to determine whether there are outstanding and unpaid penalties relating to vehicles leaving the UK.

Rosie Winterton: The enforcement of a civil penalty charge—for example a penalty charge arising from parking, certain moving traffic contraventions, or from a road user charging scheme—is a matter for the issuing local authority. The Government are not aware of local authorities making arrangements to monitor vehicles leaving the UK for this purpose.
	The enforcement of criminal penalties is an operational matter for HM Courts Service. HMCS does not routinely monitor vehicles leaving ports for the purpose of fine enforcement. The EU Framework on Mutual Recognition of Financial Penalties, once implemented, should ensure that future offenders from other EU member states pay the penalty for the criminal offences they commit.

Motorcycles: Licensing

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many instructors have been trained to oversee tests under the second European driving licence directive for motorcycles; how many will be required to implement the tests; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Driving examiners, not instructors, will conduct the motorcycling tests under the second European driving licence directive.
	The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) has trained 95 examiners to conduct the new practical test and a further 16 are to undergo training before the end of April 2008.
	To meet the demand for tests in a full year the Agency estimates that it needs to have the full time equivalent of 75 examiners.

Parking Offences: Lorries

Stephen Ladyman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what powers she plans to provide to the police to enable the enforcement of parking penalties imposed on foreign lorry drivers.

Rosie Winterton: Provisions are included in the Local Transport Bill currently progressing through Parliament which will enable DVLA to request information from foreign registration authorities on behalf of UK authorities or the police, who wish to pursue unpaid penalties incurred by motorists in foreign registered vehicles.

Rackspace

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the value was of each contract awarded to Rackspace by  (a) her Department and its predecessors and  (b) its agencies in each of the last nine years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department was formed in May 2002. Since this date the central Department has placed orders for work totalling £17,619 (excluding VAT) with Rackspace Managed Hosting Ltd. as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2005-06 5,234 
			 2006-07 11,445 
			 2007-08 940 
		
	
	The Department's agencies have not awarded any work to Rackspace since May 2002.

Railways: Overcrowding

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps her Department is taking to minimise overcrowding on trains; and if she will make a statement.

Tom Harris: The rail White Paper, published in July, committed £15 billion in total Government support to the railway over the period from 2009 to 2014. £10 billion of that will be devoted specifically to increasing capacity. Among a range of measures, there will be an extra 1,300 new carriages which will be targeted at the most congested routes on the network.

Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2532W, on biofuels, under which of the articles of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligations Order 2007 the Renewable Fuels Agency has been asked to conduct its review into the impacts of biofuel production.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Renewable Fuels Agency has been asked to lead the announced review into the wider impacts of biofuel production. Article 15 of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligations Order 2007 gives the Renewable Fuels Agency various duties to report as requested to the Secretary of State on a variety of matters and the power to publish reports and guidance as it thinks fit.

Road Safety Act 2006

Stephen Ladyman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what range of offences she plans to specify in the orders bringing sections 11 and 12 of the Road Safety Act 2006 into effect; if she will include lorries parking illegally in the range of offences; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: There will be a comprehensive list of offences relating to motor vehicles and we will be consulting on this and other aspects of the secondary legislation later in the year.

Roads

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of road there are in  (a) the St Ives constituency,  (b) Cornwall and  (c) England for which her Department is responsible.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The most recent figures available for road mileage relate to 2006. In 2006 there were 4,620 miles of public road in Cornwall and 189,000 miles in England. Road mileage figures below local highway authority level are not available.
	The road lengths provided are the total length of roads maintained by the Highways Agency and local authorities. Private road lengths are not included.

Shipping: Firearms

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what her policy is on merchant ships carrying firearms to guard against raids by pirates; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government do not encourage the carriage of firearms on board UK registered merchant ships. Only in exceptional circumstances will the Government condone the use of armed guard protection on board such ships. For example, certain shipments of nuclear material and certain VIP passenger movements have received armed guard protection. In these exceptional circumstances, ship owners should ensure that the guards are properly trained in the effective use of firearms in order to minimise accidents.
	In line with their policy of discouraging the carriage of firearms on board UK registered merchant ships, the Government have not set rules of engagement for armed guards at sea. Any company providing an armed guard protection service to a UK registered merchant ship is fully accountable under UK law and the laws of any state in whose territorial and internal waters the firearms are carried.
	While the Government do not encourage the carriage of firearms on board UK registered merchant ships, there are legal provisions governing their carriage. Firearms are controlled under the Firearms Act 1968 (as amended) and these provisions were explained in Merchant Shipping Notice 1704 published in January 1998. Permits to carry firearms on ships are issued by the police under guidance issued by the Home Office. Where firearms are carried on board UK registered merchant ships the ship security plan should detail how and where they are stored and state the procedures for accessing them.

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Departmental Internet

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if his Department will  (a) follow the Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA) guidelines and  (b) display ICRA's label on the websites for which it is responsible.

Gareth Thomas: Content on the core Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform website does meet the Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA) guidelines. The current review of BERR's website will determine whether it is possible to display ICRA's label in future.

Departmental Training

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many staff in his Department and its agencies have attended the  (a) Influencing with Integrity,  (b) Emotional Intelligence,  (c) Counselling Skills for the Workplace,  (d) Managing your Confidence,  (e) Balancing Work/Life Realities and  (f) Working Assertively training course run by the National School of Government in the last 12 months for which information is available; and at what cost.

Gareth Thomas: During the last 12 months, the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and its agencies has made the following use of the listed training courses run by the National School of Government:
	 (a) Influencing with Integrity: four staff at a cost of £2,904
	 (b) Emotional Intelligence: one staff member at a cost of £1,495
	 (c) Counselling Skills for the Workplace: 0
	 (d) Managing your Confidence: 0
	 (e) Balancing Work/Life Realities: 0
	 (f) Working Assertively: one staff member at a cost of £726

Drinking Water

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer of 3 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2235W, on mineral waters, how much bottled water was purchased by his Department's contracted service provider.

Gareth Thomas: During the last 12-month period, my Department's contracted service provider has purchased 43,680 litres of bottled mineral water, at a cost of £16,161.60. However, since November 2007, all mineral water for official functions, meetings, etc. is provided via a table water bottling system and no pre-packaged water is provided.

Employment Dispute Resolution Review

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what further steps he plans to take on the Gibbons proposals on employment dispute resolution; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: Legislative measures which aim to simplify and improve employment dispute resolution are included within the Employment Bill. Additionally, the Government are making up to £37 million available over the next three years which will allow ACAS to boost its helpline and advice services and enable it to facilitate informal resolutions at any stage of a dispute. A full account of the changes to employment dispute resolution which the Government propose will be included in the Government's response to the consultation "Resolving disputes in the workplace", which will be published in due course.

Environment Agency

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the annual budget for  (a) Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Pollution and  (b) the Environment Agency has been for evaluating the research work on radioactive waste disposal carried out by Nirex since its inception.

Phil Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
	In June 2003, the Environment Agency (EA) entered into a formal agreement with Nirex to scrutinise the company's research, under section 37 of the Environment Act 1995. Following the integration of Nirex into the NDA, this agreement has continued between the Environment Agency and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), and has a budget of up to £350,000 per year.
	The EA had no specific arrangements to scrutinise Nirex research between 1995 and 2003. This reflected the Nirex planning application for an underground rock characterisation facility near Sellafield and the redefined role of Nirex following the planning inquiry. There was however ongoing liaison with the company during this period.
	Any extant details of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Pollution's budget for evaluating Nirex's research work between 1992 and 1995 will be held at the National Archives.

Papua: Prince Andrew

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether HRH Prince Andrew recently visited West Papua as part of his role as Special Representative for Trade and Investment.

Gareth Thomas: As part of his visit to Indonesia as UK Special Representative for Trade and Investment, HRH Prince Andrew visited BP's Tangguh LNG Project in West Papua on 5 March.

Post Office: Empty Property

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate Post Office Ltd has made of its liability for empty property rates in  (a) 2007-08 and  (b) 2008-09.

Patrick McFadden: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. (POL). I have therefore asked Alan Cook, Managing Director of POL, to reply direct to the hon. Member.
	Copies of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Post Offices: Closures

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what his most recent estimate is of the number of post offices which will close under the Network Change Programme; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: The Government's response in May 2007 to the national public consultation on the post office network committed funding support for strategic changes to the network with up to 2,500 compensated closures nationally. Closures under the network change programme began in January and the programme is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

Post Offices: Closures

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many post offices are planned to be closed in each constituency under the Network Change Programme; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: Proposals for post office closures by parliamentary constituency are published on an area plan basis at the start of local public consultations. Details of area plans published to date are available on Post Office Ltd.'s website:
	www.postoffice.co.uk/networkchange

Post Offices: Closures

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what discussions he has had with Post Office Ltd on the formula to be used to  (a) earmark and  (b) determine post offices for closure.

Patrick McFadden: In identifying post offices proposed for closure and subsequent final decisions, Post Office Ltd is required to comply with the access criteria set by Government, to take account of local geography and to consider local demographic and economic factors as set out in the Government's response to the national public consultation on the post office network. Ministers do not play any role in identifying which individual post office branches should close.

Post Offices: Closures

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  how much subsidy has been paid to those post offices proposed for closure in  (a) Cumbria and  (b) Copeland in the last 10 years;
	(2)  how many customers have used each of the post office branches proposed for closure in  (a) Cumbria and  (b) Copeland over the last 10 years;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the number of Post Office customers in  (a) Cumbria and  (b) Copeland who access and receive Post Office services on-line or remotely outside of Post Office opening hours;
	(4)  what recent assessment criteria the Post Office has made of any over-provision of Post Office branches in urban areas;
	(5)  what consideration the Post Office has given to  (a) deprivation indicators,  (b) rurality,  (c) public transport links and  (d) wider socio-economic issues in producing its Post Office branch closure proposals in Copeland.

Patrick McFadden: These are operational matters for Post Office Ltd. (POL). I have therefore asked Alan Cook, Managing Director of POL, to reply direct to the hon. Member.
	Copies of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Postal Services: North West

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what criteria are being applied in Royal Mail's review of its mail distribution services in the North West.

Patrick McFadden: holding answer 25 March 2008
	This is an operational matter for which Royal Mail has direct responsibility. I have therefore asked the Chief Executive of Royal Mail, Adam Crozier, to provide a direct reply to the hon. Member.
	A copy of the response will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Regeneration: Kent

Gwyn Prosser: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much financial support has been given by  (a) the South East Regional Development Agency and  (b) English Partnerships to the regeneration of derelict sites in the former East Kent Coalfield; and if he will make a statement.

Patrick McFadden: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has not made any specific assessment of the financial support given by the South East Regional Development Agency (SEEDA) and English Partnerships to the regeneration of derelict sites in the former East Kent coalfield. However, other related assessments have taken place.
	As part of the Department's sponsorship framework of the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs), a general assessment of the performance of the RDAs is undertaken by the National Audit Office in the form of Independent Performance Assessment (IPA). This assesses five criteria; ambition, prioritisation, capacity, performance management and achievement. The last IPA report on SEEDA was published in November 2006 (and can be found on SEEDA's website: www.seeda.co.uk).
	More specifically, SEEDA itself commissioned consultants BBP and SQW to undertake an interim evaluation of the East Kent coalfields programme. The purpose of this was to establish the impact of regeneration activity to date in the East Kent coalfields area and to assess how well the coalfields programme has addressed its targets. This report was presented to SEEDA in August 2007 in draft and is currently being refined to include 2007 data.
	BBP and SQW were previously commissioned by the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) to conduct an independent evaluation of the coalfields regeneration programme in England. This was published in March 2007. The report provided strong evidence of the positive impact of English Partnerships' National Coalfields Programme on our former coalfield communities, including the East Kent coalfields. The report, 'Regenerating the English Coalfields—Interim evaluation of the coalfield regeneration programmes' is available on the Communities and Local Government website:
	http:www.communities.gov.uk/publications/citiesandregions/regeneratingenglish

Training: Elderly

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many people aged over 50 years took up training schemes offered through his Department in Easington constituency in each of the last five years.

Bill Rammell: I have been asked to reply.
	The following table shows the total number of learners aged 50 and over in Easington constituency for the latest five years for which information is available (numbers have been rounded).
	
		
			  LSC funded adult learners (on further education provision, Train to Gain and Adult and Community Learning) 
			  Academic year  Number 
			 2002-03 1,740 
			 2003-04 2,170 
			 2004-05 2,370 
			 2005-06 1,920 
			 2006-07 1,350 
		
	
	Overall Government investment in the further education sector has increased by 52 per cent. in real terms between 1997 and 2007. Participation funding for adults will increase to around £3.6 billion in 2010-11, an increase of over 17 per cent. compared with 2007-08.
	We have continued to realign funding towards basic literacy and numeracy, full level 2 and full level 3 qualifications providing skills for employment and further progression in learning away from, for example, very short or low quality courses. This has enabled us to support significant increases in participation for young people and adults in these key programmes, providing them with the education and skills they need to fully participate in an economically successful and socially cohesive society.
	This Department and the LSC are working closely with the Department of Work and Pensions and Jobcentre Plus to implement the proposals outlined in "World Class Skills: Implementing the Leitch Review of Skills in England" and the Green Paper, "In Work, better off," both published in July this year. These include supporting individuals, including older workers into sustainable employment and progression in work and in skills.
	In line with this we are working with employers through Train to Gain and the Skills Pledge to meet skill needs and to ensure that all employees including older people have the basic skills, including literacy and numeracy and Level 2 skills (equivalent to five good GCSEs) needed to sustain and progress in employment. To support this we are increasing funding for Train to Gain from £440 million in 2007-08 to over £900 million in 2010-11. We want to encourage all employers in England to make a Skills Pledge that is a specific promise that every eligible employee will be helped to gain basic skills, and a full Level 2 qualification.
	We recognise the importance of FE and adult learning in meeting a range of social and community needs and remain fully committed to ensuring that older learners can benefit from a wide range of learning opportunities, including learning for its own sake, for personal fulfilment and to sustain an active role in the community. In addition we have committed £210 million per annum until 2010-11 to safeguard learning opportunities for personal fulfilment, community development and active citizenship.

HOME DEPARTMENT

101 Calls

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2008,  Official Report, column 803W, on 101 calls, what the annual cost of maintaining the national 101 infrastructure is; and which local authorities are funding their own pilots of the 101 service.

Tony McNulty: The annual cost to the Home Office of maintaining the national 101 telephony infrastructure will be £950,000. This funding will ensure that the 101 number continues to be available for all local areas to use to maintain or develop their own locally funded 101 services, informed by the benefits and good practice successfully demonstrated in the initial live areas.
	We welcome the decisions taken to date by local authorities in partnership with local police in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Sheffield and Cardiff to continue to operate the 101 service on a locally funded basis. We also welcome the piloting of a locally funded 101 service by the Greater London Authority together with individual boroughs, London councils, and the Metropolitan Police Service.

Armed Forces: Peterborough

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2008,  Official Report, column 786W, if she will ask the Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire to provide the information requested.

Tony McNulty: Following the previous answer, my right hon. Friend's question was passed to the chief constable of Cambridgeshire on 14 March 2008 asking that you be provided with the information requested.

Arrests

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  on what occasions the police have arrested an individual  (a) on an aircraft at a UK airport and  (b) at the airport after an individual has landed in the last 10 years;
	(2)  on how many occasions police in the course of their duty have been denied access to an aircraft at an airport in the UK in the last 10 years;
	(3)  what powers the police have to prevent an aircraft from taking off from a UK airport in order to effect an arrest.

Tony McNulty: The statistical information requested is not held centrally.
	In England and Wales, section 17 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984 provides that a constable may enter and search any premises, including aircraft, for the purpose of executing a warrant or to arrest a person for an indictable offence. In Northern Ireland, Article 19(1)(b) of the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 provides a constable with the power to enter and search any premises, including aircraft, for the purposes of affecting an arrest of a person for an indictable offence. In Scotland if a constable has grounds to believe that a crime has been committed anywhere within an airport, including an aircraft which has landed and is stationed at a terminal, they can investigate in the same way as for any other crime committed elsewhere within their force area.
	Arrest may also be made under European or international warrant. In addition, the Manual of Air Traffic Services enables the police to instruct air traffic controllers to withhold permission for an aircraft to take off.

Asylum

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many attempts to deport asylum seekers were unsuccessful because the receiving country refused to accept them after the flight had left the UK in the last 12 months.

Jacqui Smith: The information requested could be obtained by the detailed examination of individual case records only at disproportionate cost.

Community Support Officers

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of police community support officers; and if she will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: PCSOs are an invaluable addition to policing with their main focus on engaging with their local community, providing high visibility reassurance policing and dealing with low level crime and antisocial behaviour.
	The National Policing Improvement Agency is leading a review of PCSOs, considering their role, as well as standardisation of equipment, uniforms, training and career development. The review will report shortly.

Community Support Officers: Complaints

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints in each category of complaint  (a) in total and  (b) against police community support officers were received by the police complaints and discipline department of each police authority in England and Wales in the last year in which figures are available.

Tony McNulty: This information is not held centrally. Such complaints are a matter for each police authority.

Demonstrations: Parliament Square

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) males and  (b) females, broken down by age group, were (i) arrested, (ii) prosecuted and (iii) convicted of unlawful public demonstrations in Parliament Square in each of the last three years for which information is available.

Tony McNulty: Data showing the number of males and females, by age group, proceeded against and found guilty of organising or carrying out a demonstration in a designated area in 2005 and 2006 are found in the following table. The Ministry of Justice are unable to separate offences committed in Parliament Square from those committed in other locations within the designated area.
	The Home Office does not collect the information requested on arrests centrally. However I understand from the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police that since Section 132 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 came into force until the end of December 2006, there have been 91 arrests of individuals for a range of offences connected to demonstrations in the vicinity of Parliament. Data on the number of arrests in 2007 are not available.
	
		
			  Number of males and females, by age group, proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty of organising, taking part in or carrying out a demonstration in a designated area( 1) , England and Wales, 2005 to 2006( 2,3,4,5) 
			   2005  2006 
			  Sex and age  Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			  Male 
			 10 to 11 — — — — 
			 12 to 14 — — — — 
			 15 to 17 1 — 1 1 
			 18 to 20 — — 2 1 
			 21 and over 5 — 13 11 
			 Total 6 — 16 13 
			  
			  Female 
			 10 to 11 — — — — 
			 12 to 14 — — — — 
			 15 to 17 — — — — 
			 18 to 20 — — — — 
			 21 and over 1 1 6 5 
			 Total 1 1 6 5 
			  
			 Total 7 1 22 18 
			 (1) (a) The designated area includes Parliament Square and other locations within the Westminster area - as detailed in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, Designated Area Order (No 1537). (2) These data are on the principal offence basis. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4) The above data cover the following statutes: Section 132(1)(a),(b) and (c), Section 136(1) and (2) of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. (5) The above named Act came into force on 7 April 2005.

Departmental Pay

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was paid in discretionary bonuses to staff in her Department in each of the last five years.

Jacqui Smith: Within Home Office Headquarters and the Border and Immigration Agency discretionary bonuses may be awarded in the form of annual, appraisal-related awards based on exceptional contribution throughout the year; or special bonuses for exceptional outstanding achievements by staff in particularly demanding tasks or situations. senior civil servants can be awarded bonuses as set out in the Senior Salaries Review Body report number 62.
	The following table provides information about the amount paid in end of year bonuses (annual appraisal related) in the last five years, and includes information for senior civil servants across the Home Office Group, and staff working within Home Office Headquarters and the Border and Immigration Agency. It does not include figures for special bonuses, as this is not available without incurring disproportionate costs.
	
		
			   Amount paid (£) 
			 2002-03 2,067,878 
			 2003-04 3,361,516 
			 2004-05 4,287,676 
			 2005-06 4,449,667 
			 2006-07 4,135,224(1) 
			 (1) Figures for 2006-07 are subject to some change as data is not yet complete. 
		
	
	Staff in the Identity and Passport Service receive end of year corporate bonuses, and change agent bonuses. As the corporate bonuses were only introduced in 2003-04 the following table provides information for the last four years only:
	
		
			   Appraisal bonus  Special bonus 
			 2003-04 388,874 12,375 
			 2004-05 731,484 23,060 
			 2005-06 1,068,482 41,663 
			 2006-07 1,253,045 106,219 
			 2007-08 ytd  71,799 
		
	
	Staff in the Criminal Records Bureau do not receive end of year bonuses. Staff do receive special bonus payments but this information is not available without incurring disproportionate costs.
	Data are not available from the Prison Service, who were formally an agency of the Home Office prior to transferring to the Ministry of Justice, as obtaining this data is possible only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Questions

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of questions tabled for answer on a named day to her Department received a substantive answer on the day due in the last year for which figures are available.

Tony McNulty: Details of how many and what proportion of named day parliamentary questions the Home Office answered since 2006-07 is given in the following table:
	
		
			   Session: 
			   2006-07  2007-08( 2) 
			 Named day questions received 1,260 404 
			 Answered substantively on the named day(1) 443 155 
			 Proportion answered substantively on the named day (percentage) 35 38 
			 (1) All questions not answered substantively on the named day receive a holding answer. (2) To 12 March 2008. 
		
	
	Information prior to 2006-07 is not held in the format requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Written Questions

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of written parliamentary questions her Department did not answer on the grounds of disproportionate cost, in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what proportion of named day written parliamentary questions her Department answered on the date named in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(3)  what the average length of time taken for her Department to answer written parliamentary questions was in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(4)  how many written parliamentary questions to her Department were answered within  (a) one,  (b) two,  (c) three,  (d) four,  (e) five and  (f) six months in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 12 March 2008
	Information on written parliamentary questions answered on grounds of disproportionate costs is not held centrally.
	Information on the number of named day parliamentary questions answered on the date named since the 2006-07 session is given in the following table:
	
		
			  Session  Named d ay questions received  Answere d substantively on the named day( 1)  Proportion answered substantively on the named day (percentage) 
			 2006-7 1260 443 35 
			 2007-8(2) 404 155 38 
			 (1) All questions not answered substantively on the named day receive a holding answer. (2 )Data based on questions answered up to 12 March 2008 
		
	
	The average length of time taken for the Department to answer written parliamentary questions is not held centrally.
	The number of parliamentary questions answered within one to six months since 2006-07 is given in the following table:
	
		
			   Session 
			   2006-07( 1)  2007-08( 2) 
			  Number of written parliamentary questions answered in months  Number  Percentage  Number  P ercentage 
			 One 5,680 95 1,815 97 
			 Two 187 3 59 3 
			 Three 74 1 — — 
			 Four 12 0.2 — — 
			 Five 6 0.1 — — 
			 Six 3 0.05 — — 
			 (1) Based on 5,964 questions answered in 2006-7. (2 )Data based on 1,874 questions answered in 2007-08 to 12 March 2008. 
		
	
	Information prior to 2006-07 is not held centrally in the format requested.

Dorset Police Authority: Olympic Games 2012

Robert Walter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding is being made available to Dorset Police Authority in  (a) 2007-08,  (b) 2008-09,  (c) 2009-10,  (d) 2010-11 and  (e) 2011-12 for security for the 2010 and 2011 Sailing World Championships and the 2012 Olympic Games and their preparatory events.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 27 March 2008
	The Home Office has made available £416,311 in 2007-08 to enable Dorset police to plan and prepare for security at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012. We are in discussion with Dorset police authority about funding for the remaining years. The Home Office has not made any additional funding available to Dorset police for the staging of the Sailing World Championships.

Dorset Police Authority: Olympic Games 2012

Robert Walter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she has had with the Chief Constable of Dorset police on the security requirements for the Olympic sailing events in Dorset up to and including 2012.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 27 March 2008
	The Home Secretary is the Minister accountable for the delivery of the wider security for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games. The security requirements for the events are part of the security strategy and operational planning which is being led by the multi-agency Olympic Security Directorate, including Dorset Police. The Director of Olympic Safety and Security in the Home Office and the Olympic Security Directorate are in discussion with Dorset police about their requirements.

Emergency Calls: Hoaxes and False Alarms

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of emergency calls to the police were classified as prank calls in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is not centrally collected.

EU Immigration

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding was received by the UK in each year to date from the  (a) European Refugee Fund,  (b) External Borders Fund,  (c) Integration Fund and  (d) European Return Fund as part of the EU General Programme, Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows; and how much is expected to be received in each year up to 2013.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 20 March 2008
	The amount allocated to the UK for these funds in 2007 and 2008 is publicly available in the Committee General Programme Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows dated 20 July 2007.
	The 2009-13 allocations are scheduled for announcement by the European Commission no later than 1 July of every preceding year.

EU Immigration

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many additional illegally residing foreign nationals she expects to be able to return to their home countries as a result of the European Return Fund in each year between 2008 and 2013.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 20 March 2008
	No firm estimates are available at this time as a result of the newly established European Return Fund.

Human Trafficking: Arrests

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been  (a) arrested and  (b) convicted of human trafficking offences as a result of operations by the Serious and Organised Crime Agency.

Jacqui Smith: The Serious Organised Crime Agency records data on organised immigration crime, including people trafficking and human smuggling. In the first six months of 2007-08, there were 55 arrests and 17 convictions in operations where organised immigration crime was the main threat.
	In its 2006-07 annual report, SOCA reported 749 arrests flowing from SOCA casework in the United Kingdom. Of these, 128 were in operations where organised immigration crime was the main threat.
	In its 2006-07 annual report, SOCA reported 271 convictions in UK courts. Of these, 31 were in operations where organised immigration crime was the main threat.

Immigration: EC Law

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what submissions the UK has made on the adoption of EC Decision No 575/2007/EC establishing the European Return Fund; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 25 March 2008
	In line with other EU member states under the jurisdiction of the EU Commission's Common Committee Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows, the UK submitted the appropriate Explanatory Memorandum under references 8690/05 and 9930/06.

Metropolitan Police: Recruitment

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers were recruited to the Metropolitan Police in each year since 1997; and what proportion of them were recruited directly from other police forces in each of those years.

Tony McNulty: The available data for the numbers of police officer standard direct recruits and police officer transfers to the Metropolitan Police, have been collected centrally from 2002-03 onwards and are given in the following table.
	
		
			  Police officer standard direct recruits and transfers (FTE)( 1)  for Metropolitan Police from 2002-03 to 2006-07 
			   Police standard direct recruits  Police transfers( 2) 
			 2002-03(3) 2,434 407 
			 2003-04 2,971 319 
			 2004-05 1,886 351 
			 2005-06 1,050 182 
			 2006-07 1,216 478 
			 (1) Full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. (2) Between 2002-03 and 2006-07 1,594 police officers transferred to other forces from the Metropolitan Police. (3) Excludes Quarter 1, data are not available.

Metropolitan Police: Recruitment

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many officers were recruited into the Metropolitan Police from the London Borough of Enfield in each of the last 10 years.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is collected at the police force level only.
	The deployment of police officers within the force is an operational matter for the Metropolitan Police Commissioner and the Metropolitan Police Authority.

Personation: Crime Prevention

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government have taken to reduce the number of offences related to identity theft since 1997.

Meg Hillier: We are involved in a variety of activity to reduce the incidence of offences related to identity theft. A public-private sector work programme, the Identity Fraud Steering Committee (IFSC), was set up in 2003 to co-ordinate this work.
	We have sought to ensure better co-ordination in prosecuting fraudsters. This has involved the establishment of a network of single points of contact in all police forces and a range of Government Departments and agencies dealing with identity fraud investigations and prosecutions.
	Legislation has also been strengthened. Tougher criminal penalties have been introduced for driving licence and passport offences, alongside offences in the Identity Cards Act 2006 to target those who possess and use false identity documents and genuine documents belonging to someone else.
	More powers to share data to combat fraud have been enacted in the Serious Crime Act 2007, and most recently the Disclosure of Death Registration Information Scheme, under the Police and Justice Act 2006, was launched on 16 January 2008.
	We have introduced systems to confirm the validity of UK passports presented to other organisations and interviews for first time passport applicants over 16-years-old now take place to verify the identity of individuals.
	The IFSC produce a leaflet and a website www. identitytheft.org.uk to increase public awareness of the problem. The material advises on how to reduce the risk of becoming a victim of identity fraud, warning signs to look out for, and what someone should do if they do fall victim.
	On 9 October 2007 the Attorney-General announced that funding had been approved for the proposals arising from the Government's Fraud Review. This includes the development of a National Fraud Strategic Authority, together with a National Fraud Reporting Centre, the establishment of the City of London Police as the lead force on fraud, and proposals for measurement of fraud. These measures will help to tackle fraud in general and increase our understanding of the nature and extent of the problem.
	Finally, our plans for a National Identity Scheme will provide people with a highly secure means of protecting their identity and help citizens to prove their identities easily, quickly and with vastly improved security.

Police: Accidents

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many accidents there were involving police vehicles on emergency calls in  (a) Castle Point constituency and  (b) Essex in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 26 March 2008
	The available data for the number of road traffic collisions involving police vehicles during immediate/emergency response and police pursuits are collected at the police force level only and the data supplied by Essex are given in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of road traffic collisions involving police vehicles during immediate/emergency response and police pursuit, from 2002-03 to 2006-07—Essex 
			   Number 
			 2002-03 127 
			 2003-04 22 
			 2004-05 21 
			 2005-06 67 
			 2006-07 92

Police: Bureaucracy

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which recommendations of the police bureaucracy taskforce report 2002  (a) were accepted and  (b) have been implemented.

Tony McNulty: The last formal update on the recommendations of the police bureaucracy taskforce report 2002 that were  (a) accepted and  (b) implemented was undertaken in November 2005. This information is available on the Home Office website via the following link:
	http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/news-and-publications/publication/police-reform/trafficlightsummary.pdf?view=Binary
	The report has been placed in the House Library.
	Sir Ronnie Flanagan was asked in April 2007 to look at further progress in this area as part of his independent review of policing, the final report of which was published on 7 February 2008. The Secretary of State for the Home Department set out her initial response to this report in her statement to the House of Commons on 7 February 2008. The Home Office, together with the National Policing Improvement Agency and other policing partners, is currently considering Sir Ronnie's recommendations more fully and the Home Office will be setting out its response shortly.

Police: Career Structure

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations she has received on the review of the OSPRE procedure; and if she will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: After trialling a new promotions process incorporating work-based assessment, the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) held a consultation in the autumn of 2007 to decide the future of promotion to the rank of sergeant and inspector. It outlined four options: extending the trial; reverting to OSPRE; full rollout of the trialled system; and phased rollout of the trialled system. There were 48 responses, of which a clear majority favoured a phased rollout. All forces involved in the trial wanted to continue using the new promotions process as they said it delivered better quality sergeants and inspectors.
	An analysis of this consultation can be found on the NPIA website: www.npia.police.uk and a copy has been placed in the Library.

Police: Death

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers  (a) were killed on duty and  (b) received bravery awards in each police force area in England and Wales in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The information is as follows.
	 (a) The numbers of fatal assaults on police officers have been published each year by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) in their annual report. HMIC have advised that these assaults data will no longer be published in their annual report and that the data for 2004-05 would be the last series of data to be published. The available data are given in the following table.
	 (b) The UK Honours System (including awards for merit, service or bravery) is managed by the Cabinet Office Ceremonial Secretariat and details of awards are published in the  London Gazette. The number of police officers receiving such awards is not collected centrally within the police personnel statistics series.
	
		
			  Fatal assaults( 1)  on police officers 1999-2000 to 2004-05( 2,3) 
			  Force  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			 Avon and Somerset 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Bedfordshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Cambridgeshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Cheshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 City of London 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Cleveland 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Cumbria 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Derbyshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Devon and Cornwall 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Dorset 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Durham 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Dyfed-Powys 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Essex 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Gloucestershire 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Greater Manchester(4) 1 1 0 1 — 0 
			 Gwent 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hampshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Hertfordshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Humberside 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Kent 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Lancashire(5,6) 0 0 0 0 — — 
			 Leicestershire 0 0 0 2 0 0 
			 Lincolnshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Merseyside 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Metropolitan Police(7) 0 — — — — 0 
			 Norfolk 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Northamptonshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Northumbria 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 North Wales 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 North Yorkshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Nottinghamshire 0 0 0 1 0 0 
			 South Wales(8) — 0 0 0 0 0 
			 South Yorkshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Staffordshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Suffolk 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Surrey 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Sussex 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Thames Valley 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Warwickshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 West Mercia 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 West Midlands(5,6) 0 0 1 0 — — 
			 West Yorkshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Wiltshire 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 (1) Data collated on behalf of and published by HMIC. Serious assaults are those for which the charge would be under sections 18 and 20 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. Other assaults include those with minor or no injury. Recording practices may vary over time and between forces. (2) Financial year runs 1 April to 31 March inclusive. (3) HMIC did not publish a force breakdown of assaults prior to 1999-2000. HMIC have advised that assaults data will no longer be published in their annual report and that the data for 2004-05 is the last series of these data to be published. (4) Greater Manchester was not able to provide data in 2003-04. (5) Lancashire and West Midlands were not able to provide breakdowns of numbers for different assaults in 2003-04, however the number of overall assaults was 462 and 1,112 respectively. (6) Lancashire and West Midlands were not able to provide breakdowns of numbers for different assaults in 2004-05, however the number of overall assaults was 521 and 910 respectively. (7) Metropolitan Police was unable to provide data in 2000-01 and was unable to provide breakdowns of numbers for different assaults from 2001-02 to 2003-04. (8) South Wales was not able to provide breakdowns of numbers for different assaults in 1999-2000.

Police: Finance

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effect of changes in the level of crime on the police funding formula in each of the last 10 years.

Tony McNulty: The police funding formula uses a range of data relating to demographic and social characteristics, which are heavily weighted by changes in population, to allocate grant and reflect the relative needs of each police authority.
	Changes in the level of crime are not factored into the police funding formula when calculating grant allocations per se, as to do so, would create perverse incentives for police authorities and forces.

Police: Finance

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police forces in England and Wales are receiving funding  (a) above the formula funding level,  (b) at the formula funding level and  (c) below the formula funding level in 2007-08; and if she will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The information requested is set out in the following table.
	The damping mechanism exists to protect all authorities against financial instability and ensures all authorities receive an increase in grant at least equal to the "floor" level on a like-for-like basis year-on-year.
	For the three years of the comprehensive spending review we have set the funding floor at 2.5 per cent. This will mean that each police authority in England and Wales is guaranteed an increase of at least that amount in each of the next three years while enabling us to move towards fuller implementation of the needs based funding formula.
	
		
			  Police grant floors 2007-08 
			  £ million 
			   2007-08 allocation  
			  Police authority  Before floors and ceilings( 1,2)  After floors and ceilings( 2,3)  Amount gained or lost 
			  English shire forces
			 Avon and Somerset 179.8 167.9 -11.9 
			 Bedfordshire 70.6 66.4 -4.3 
			 Cambridgeshire 79.2 76.5 -2.7 
			 Cheshire 109.1 114.8 5.7 
			 Cleveland 91.2 93 1.8 
			 Cumbria 52.2 64 11.8 
			 Derbyshire 111.5 105.8 -5.7 
			 Devon and Cornwall 175.6 177.5 1.9 
			 Dorset 60.9 62.2 1.3 
			 Durham 82 87 5.0 
			 Essex 169.4 168.5 -0.9 
			 Gloucestershire 55.9 56.5 0.6 
			 Hampshire 198.6 197.3 -1.3 
			 Hertfordshire 119 114.4 -4.6 
			 Humberside 117.7 122 4.3 
			 Kent 182.1 182.6 0.5 
			 Lancashire 192.1 193.7 1.6 
			 Leicestershire 114.5 111.5 -3.0 
			 Lincolnshire 62 60.5 -1.6 
			 Norfolk 79.8 83.4 3.6 
			 North Yorkshire 66.2 73 6.8 
			 Northamptonshire 71.1 71.7 0.6 
			 Nottinghamshire 137.6 132.5 -5.1 
			 Staffordshire 114.5 114.3 -0.3 
			 Suffolk 65.4 67.6 2.2 
			 Surrey 95.7 97 1.3 
			 Sussex 154.9 161.7 6.8 
			 Thames Valley 234 225.9 -8.1 
			 Warwickshire 53.1 51.5 -1.7 
			 West Mercia 107.1 116 8.9 
			 Wiltshire 60.2 62 1.8 
			 
			 Greater Manchester 446.2 432.7 -13.6 
			 Merseyside 255.7 253.8 -1.8 
			 Northumbria 209.2 238 28.8 
			 South Yorkshire 193 194.3 1.2 
			 West Midlands 498.3 450.2 -48.1 
			 West Yorkshire 332.6 317.6 -15.1 
			 
			 GLA—police 1,850.6 1,883.7 33.1 
			 
			  Welsh forces
			 Dyfed-Powys 47.3 51.8 4.5 
			 Gwent 75.5 78.7 3.2 
			 North Wales 67.7 76.3 8.6 
			 South Wales 175.6 172.2 -3.4 
			 (1) Rounded to the nearest £100,000. Grant as calculated using the Police Funding Formula for 2004-05. This includes the Metropolitan Police special payment. (2) Figures for the City of London are excluded because these are allocated to the Common Council of the City of London as a whole in respect of all its functions. The City of London is grouped with education authorities for floors and ceilings purposes. (3) Rounded to the nearest £100,000. Grant as calculated under the Local Government Finance Report (England) and Local Government Finance Report (Wales). This includes the Metropolitan Police special payment, and the effects of floors and ceilings.

Police: Finance

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how changes in population are taken into account when calculating the total resource allocation formula for police forces.

Tony McNulty: The police funding formula uses a range of data relating to demographic and social characteristics, which are heavily weighted by changes in population, to allocate grant and reflect the relative needs of each police authority.
	When calculating formula grant allocations, the best information available at the time that treats all authorities on a consistent basis is used. Population data is provided by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Police: Firearms

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers were  (a) shot at,  (b) injured by shootings and  (c) killed by shootings in each police force area in England and Wales in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Tony McNulty: Information on firearms offences (excluding air weapons) in which the weapon was fired but did not cause injury and the principle victim was a police officer on duty, from 2002-03 to 2006-07 is given in table (a).
	Data relating to crimes recorded by the police in which a police officer on duty was injured by a firearm (excluding air weapon) by the weapon being fired, from 2002-03 up to and including 2006-07 and are given on table (b).
	
		
			  Table a: Crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales in which a firearm (excluding air weapon) was fired but did not cause injury and the principle victim was a police officer on duty, 2002-03 to 2006-07 
			   Police force area  Number of offences 
			 2002-03(1) Metropolitan 14 
			  Nottinghamshire 1 
			  England and Wales total 15 
			
			 2003-04 Avon and Somerset 1 
			  Merseyside 1 
			  Metropolitan 7 
			  Surrey 1 
			  West Midlands 2 
			  West Yorkshire 1 
			  England and Wales total 13 
			
			 2004-05(2) Greater Manchester 2 
			  Humberside 1 
			  Metropolitan 2 
			  England and Wales total 5 
			
			 2005-06 Greater Manchester 1 
			  Leicestershire 2 
			  Metropolitan 3 
			  Northamptonshire 1 
			  Northumbria 1 
			  West Yorkshire' 3 
			  England and Wales total 11 
			
			 2006-07 Greater Manchester 2 
			  Merseyside 1 
			  Metropolitan 2 
			  West Mercia 1 
			  West Yorkshire 1 
			  England and Wales total 7 
			 (1) The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced on 1 April 2002. Figures for some crime categories may have been inflated by this. (2) More explicit guidelines for the classification of weapons introduced on 1 April 2004 may have increased the recording of firearm offences particularly those committed by imitation weapons. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table b: Crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales in which a police officer was injured( 1)  by a firearm (excluding air weapons), by police force area and injury type, 2002-03 to 2006-07 
			Injury type  
			   Police force area  Fatal injury  Serious injury( 2)  Slight injury  Total injuries 
			 2002-03(3) Gloucestershire — — 1 1 
			  Metropolitan — 1 5 6 
			  Northamptonshire — — 2 2 
			  West Midlands — — 3 3 
			  England and Wales total — 1 11 12 
			   
			 2003-04 Cheshire — — 1 1 
			  Devon and Cornwall — — 1 1 
			  Metropolitan — 1 6 7 
			  Nottinghamshire — — 1 1 
			  West Midlands — 1 1 2 
			  West Yorkshire 1 1 — 2 
			  England and Wales total 1 3 10 14 
			   
			 2004-05(4) Avon and Somerset — — 2 2 
			  Greater Manchester — — 6 6 
			  Humberside — — 1 1 
			  Metropolitan — 1 4 5 
			  West Midlands — — 2 2 
			  England and Wales total — 1 15 16 
			   
			 2005-06 Cheshire — — 1 1 
			  Devon and Cornwall — — 2 2 
			  Lancashire — 1 — 1 
			  Merseyside — — 1 1 
			  Metropolitan — — 5 5 
			  Nottinghamshire — 1 — 1 
			  West Midlands — 1 3 4 
			  West Yorkshire 1 3 — 4 
			  England and Wales total 1 6 12 19 
			   
			 2006-07 Cheshire — — 1 1 
			  Gloucestershire — — 3 3 
			  Greater Manchester — — 1 1 
			  Humberside — — 1 1 
			  Leicestershire — — 1 1 
			  Merseyside — 1 — 1 
			  Metropolitan — 1 2 3 
			  West Midlands — 1 4 5 
			  West Yorkshire — — 2 2 
			  Wiltshire — — 1 1 
			  England and Wales total — 3 16 19 
			 (1) By the weapon being fired. (2) A serious injury is one which necessitated detention in hospital or involve fractures, concussion severe general shock penetration of a bullet or multiple shock wounds. (3) The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced on 1 April 2002. Figures for some crime categories may have been inflated by this. 4. More explicit guidelines for the classification of weapons introduced on 1 April 2004 may have increased the recording of firearm offences particularly those committed by imitation weapons.

Police: ICT

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police forces are equipped with the National Strategy for Police Information Systems for managing  (a) custody records and  (b) case files; when she expects the remaining police forces to adopt the systems; and if she will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The police forces equipped with the National Strategy for Police Information Systems (NSPIS) for managing custody records and case files are shown in the following table.
	The forces that have not contracted for the NSPIS products have implemented alternative custody and/or case preparation that conform to the same data standards.
	All of these implementation projects are now completed or are in their final stages. The Metropolitan Police Service is introducing NSPIS case preparation in parallel with the deployment schedule for the HM Court Service Libra system. All 43 forces will have an approved custody of case preparation system live at all sites by the end of 2008.
	
		
			  Force  NSPIS custody fully rolled out  NSPIS case prep fully rolled out 
			 Avon and Somerset Yes Yes 
			 Bedfordshire Yes Yes 
			 Cambridgeshire Yes Yes 
			 Cleveland Yes Yes 
			 City of London Police Yes Yes 
			 Cumbria Yes Yes 
			 Derbyshire Yes Yes 
			 Devon and Cornwall 30 May 2008 Yes 
			 Dorset n/a Yes 
			 Durham Yes Yes 
			 Essex Yes Yes 
			 Gwent Yes Yes 
			 Hertfordshire n/a Yes 
			 Humberside Yes Yes 
			 Leicestershire Yes Yes 
			 Lincolnshire Yes Yes 
			 Metropolitan Police Yes 31 December 208 
			 Norfolk Yes Yes 
			 Northamptonshire Yes Yes 
			 Nottinghamshire Yes Yes 
			 South Yorkshire n/a Yes 
			 Staffordshire Yes Yes 
			 Suffolk 31 March 2008 31 March 2008 
			 Surrey n/a 30 July 2008 
			 Sussex 28 March 2008 28 March 2008 
			 Thames Valley Yes Yes 
			 Warwick Yes Yes 
			 West Mercia Yes Yes 
			 Total completed 21 24 
			 Total remaining 3 4

Police: ICT

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police forces are  (a) equipped with and  (b) piloting niche record management software.

Tony McNulty: The following forces are equipped with Niche record management software (RMS):
	Cheshire Constabulary
	Cleveland Police
	Hampshire Constabulary
	Merseyside Police
	Police Service of Northern Ireland
	North Wales Police
	North Yorkshire Police
	South Wales Police
	West Yorkshire Police
	Wiltshire Constabulary.
	Niche Technology Inc. develops software which is commercially available. I am not aware of any forces, other than those listed, that are currently piloting Niche RMS in a "live" environment.

Police: Pensions

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how much was spent on the police pension scheme in each year since 1980-81; what forecasts she has made of how much will be spent in each year between 2007-08 and 2050-51; how many members of the scheme there are; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what the cost of pension provision to each constabulary was in each year since 1997; and what percentage of the budget of each force this represented in each of those years.

Tony McNulty: The information requested on the total cost of police pensions and on the cost of pension provision as a share of police spending for each constabulary for the years before 2006-07 is not held centrally as the administration of the police pension schemes is the responsibility of individual police authorities. Information on financial statistics, including expenditure on police pensions and overall spending, for police forces is included in the annual reports published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA). This information is gathered independently of the Home Office.
	However, the system for financing police pensions changed on 1 April 2006. Under the new system, police authorities no longer have to meet the cost of pensions in payment out of their operating accounts. Police authorities now have a separate pensions account for this purpose, into which are paid officers' contributions and a new employer's contribution. Where the pensions account does not have enough funds to meet the cost of pensions in any year it is topped up with a grant from central Government; any surplus is recouped. A key benefit of this change is that it takes away from police authorities the responsibility for meeting the rising cost of pensions in payment as a result of an increase in the number of pensioners.
	Figures from the annual police pensions financing reporting cycle show that based on police forces' unaudited accounts for 2006-07, the estimated pensions expenditure from forces' pensions accounts under the new system across the service was £1.96 billion—£1.46 billion net of the contributions made by serving officers.
	The following figures are the most recently published projections of total future expenditure on police pensions in England and Wales, net of the contributions made by serving officers. These were produced by the Government Actuary's Department (GAD) as part of the consultation process on the new system for funding police pensions in 2005. GAD advise that in view of the time elapsed since the figures were produced they should be viewed only as indicative as the likely future trend of police pensions expenditure. No projections are available for 2013-14 to 2050-51.
	The following table outlines figures for the expenditure of each police force on employer contributions for police pension purposes, based on their unaudited accounts, set against each force's budget requirement for 2006-07 as a percentage.
	Membership figures are not held centrally, but we estimate that there are approximately 140,000 active members of one or other of the two Police Pension Schemes. We also estimate that there are approximately 120,000 police pensioners, including survivor pensions, and a further 20,000 police deferred pensioners. This gives a total estimate of 280,000 members of the police pension schemes.
	
		
			  Financial year  Estimated pensions expenditure (£ billion) 
			 2007-08 1.61 
			 2008-09 l.74 
			 2010-11 1.88 
			 2011-12 2.00 
			 2012-13 2.25 
		
	
	
		
			  Financial year 2006-07 
			  Police force  Budget requirement 2006  Un-audited accounts 2006-07 Employers contributions (£000)  percentage of budget 
			 Avon and Somerset 236,729,347 26,609 11.240 
			 Bedfordshire 87,335,239 210 10.546 
			 Cambridgeshire 110,474,455 11,253 10.186 
			 Cheshire 150,305,000 17,097 11.375 
			 City of London 61,206,000 7,556 12.345 
			 Cleveland 114,975,143 113,156 11.442 
			 Cumbria 90,328,000 9,866 10.922 
			 Derbyshire 145,328,989 15,829 10.892 
			 Devon and Cornwall 246,273,836 27,233 11.058 
			 Dorset 103,055,700 11,725 11.377 
			 Durham 102,583,311 13,432 13.094 
			 Dyfed-Powys 79,892,792 9,575 11.985 
			 Essex 231,985,273 24,944 10.752 
			 Gloucestershire 91,489,400 10,204 11.153 
			 Greater Manchester 503,504,176 61,560 12.226 
			 Gwent 106,054,899 11,507 10.850 
			 Hampshire 269,722,000 13,060 10.568 
			 Hertfordshire 164,225,494 7,161 9.812 
			 Humberside 158,052,928 7,716 11.216 
			 Kent 247,311,000 12,474 11.302 
			 Lancashire 239,533,000 12,380 11.585 
			 Leicestershire 148,270,715 17,331 11.689 
			 Lincolnshire 86,492,378 9,439 10.913 
			 Merseyside 296,426,757 34,294 11.569 
			 Metropolitan 2,425,700,000 254,974 10.511 
			 Norfolk 124,672,108 12,503 10.029 
			 Northamptonshire 105,398,000 10,286 9.759 
			 North Wales 118,675,632 12,600 10.617 
			 Northumbria 260,475,000 31,672 12.159 
			 North Yorkshire 122,894,000 12,915 10.509 
			 Nottinghamshire 170,490,070 19,629 11.513 
			 South Wales 222,649,897 25,908 11.636 
			 South Yorkshire 230,581,818 26,240 11.380 
			 Staffordshire 164,024,687 18,053 11.006 
			 Suffolk 97,352,382 10,259 10.538 
			 Surrey 172,396,784 14,973 8.685 
			 Sussex 227,247,669 24,035 10.577 
			 Thames Valley 329,137,246 32,224 9.790 
			 Warwickshire 76,560,000 8,198 10.708 
			 West Mercia 176,766,000 18,670 10.613 
			 West Midlands 501,612,139 61,670 12.294 
			 West Yorkshire 380,196,015 43,344 11.400 
			 Wiltshire 91,633,000 9,722 10.610

Police: Political Impartiality

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent guidance has been given to chief constables on the use by political parties of photographs of named police officers in election leaflets.

Tony McNulty: Regulation 6 of the Police Regulations 2003 as amended by the Police (Amendment) Regulations 2004 states that:
	"a member of a police force shall at all times abstain from any activity which is likely to interfere with the impartial discharge of his duties or which is likely to give rise to the impression amongst members of the public that it may so interfere. A member of a police force shall in particular (a) not take any active part in politics".
	No guidance has been issued to police forces on the interpretation of these provisions.

Police: Retirement

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average retirement age for a police officer was in the most recent period for which figures are available; and what the average age was at which police officers retired on invalidity pensions in each police force area in England and Wales in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: Retirement age cannot be separately identified from the data collected within the police personnel statistics series.
	The available data are the age on leaving the service within the following time bands only: 25 and under, 26 to 40, 41 to 55 and over 55.

Police: Retirement

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of retirements from each police force in England and Wales have been on medical grounds in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The numbers of police officer medical retirements have been published each year by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) in their annual report. HMIC have advised that these data will no longer be published in their annual report and that the data for 2004-05 would be the last series of data to be published.
	The format of the published data was changed from 2001-02, and the available data are given in the following tables.
	
		
			  Police officer medical retirements as a percentage of all retirements( 1)  (FTE)( 2)  by force from 1996-97 to 2000-01( 3) 
			  Percentage 
			   1996-97  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01 
			 Avon and Somerset 39.8 53.7 30.0 38.5 38.5 
			 Bedfordshire 39.5 50.0 55.1 46.2 58.1 
			 Cambridgeshire 40.0 25.0 37.0 26.3 25.6 
			 Cheshire 38.0 25.9 36.1 25.8 35.5 
			 City of London 26.9 15.8 20.7 37.9 33.0 
			 Cleveland 57.9 32.0 26.9 26.3 21.4 
			 Cumbria 39.1 44.4 50.0 40.0 45.3 
			 Derbyshire 58.2 65.4 42.0 33.3 30.8 
			 Devon and Cornwall 18.4 20.0 20.8 17.9 13.6 
			 Dorset 21.6 20.0 35.6 20.4 22.2 
			 Durham 53.5 34.7 45.5 25.0 22.9 
			 Dyfed-Powys 48.0 45.8 40.0 38.7 35.9 
			 Essex 32.2 24.8 34.7 41.1 34.0 
			 Gloucestershire 24.4 16.1 26.9 22.2 20.0 
			 Greater Manchester 64.9 60.9 63.5 56.2 46.3 
			 Gwent 56.0 46.9 38.2 50.0 37.2 
			 Hampshire 21.0 30.0 28.0 15.5 15.2 
			 Hertfordshire 18.5 32.7 17.8 14.9 24.5 
			 Humberside 36.5 33.8 23.4 14.9 22.7 
			 Kent 16.5 20.0 16.7 17.7 28.2 
			 Lancashire 41.4 24.6 24.0 21.5 28.6 
			 Leicestershire 55.8 42.4 51.1 47.8 48.8 
			 Lincolnshire 23.4 48.3 40.8 23.8 8.9 
			 Merseyside 77.0 53.0 36.5 38.8 37.3 
			 Metropolitan Police 50.6 39.5 46.4 34.5 33.3 
			 Norfolk 23.4 21.5 27.7 26.7 20.4 
			 Northamptonshire 58.3 40.9 51.5 19.2 24.2 
			 Northumbria 62.5 62.9 47.3 42.2 31.1 
			 North Wales 55.0 27.5 40.8 38.5 49.2 
			 North Yorkshire 76.5 48.9 62.1 49.0 57.8 
			 Nottinghamshire 50.8 42.6 59.3 31.8 21.3 
			 South Wales 36.1 49.3 46.0 49.1 62.8 
			 South Yorkshire 44.6 31.2 21.8 24.0 28.8 
			 Staffordshire 55.3 49.6 28.6 5.7 17.6 
			 Suffolk 39.3 39.2 65.9 40.5 26.9 
			 Surrey 41.4 13.7 18.4 25.9 34.6 
			 Sussex 29.0 18.3 16.4 15.0 15.2 
			 Thames Valley 44.0 32.5 43.0 17.3 21.9 
			 Warwickshire 38.5 33.3 55.8 34.6 37.5 
			 West Mercia 47.6 37.5 35.8 33.8 35.9 
			 West Midlands 37.5 29.2 18.2 15.5 17.0 
			 West Yorkshire 35.4 25.0 34.8 29.4 27.5 
			 Wiltshire 16.4 19.2 25.0 17.0 15.2 
			 (1) Data collated on behalf of and published by HMIC. (2) This table is based on full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. (3) Financial year runs 1 April to 31 March inclusive. 
		
	
	
		
			  Police officer number of medical retirements per 1,000 officers( 1)  (FTE)( 2)  by force from 2000-01 to 2000-01( 3) 
			  Number 
			   2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			 Avon and Somerset 14 14 11 3 5 
			 Bedfordshire 17 8 6 1 2 
			 Cambridgeshire 9 7 6 3 1 
			 Cheshire 11 11 12 7 5 
			 City of London 13 10 5 9 5 
			 Cleveland 6 14 7 6 7 
			 Cumbria 23 6 6 3 2 
			 Derbyshire 7 5 6 1 4 
			 Devon and Cornwall 5 6 3 2 3 
			 Dorset 9 7 2 6 3 
			 Durham 5 9 7 4 4 
			 Dyfed-Powys 13 12 10 6 8 
			 Essex 12 11 7 5 4 
			 Gloucestershire 6 9 11 4 2 
			 Greater Manchester 16 8 5 1 2 
			 Gwent 13 18 16 6 9 
			 Hampshire 5 5 3 3 2 
			 Hertfordshire 7 4 3 1 0 
			 Humberside 11 5 5 1 4 
			 Kent 9 11 6 2 2 
			 Lancashire 9 12 6 4 3 
			 Leicestershire 14 3 4 3 3 
			 Lincolnshire 3 3 8 2 6 
			 Merseyside 12 14 12 6 6 
			 Metropolitan Police 9 8 5 2 2 
			 Norfolk 7 11 9 4 6 
			 Northamptonshire 7 5 3 2 2 
			 Northumbria 7 8 5 2 1 
			 North Wales 22 13 9 4 4 
			 North Yorkshire 28 11 6 5 5 
			 Nottinghamshire 7 6 7 5 6 
			 South Wales 24 16 10 4 2 
			 South Yorkshire 9 9 5 4 1 
			 Staffordshire 4 11 10 6 6 
			 Suffolk 12 11 10 6 2 
			 Surrey 9 12 6 5 3 
			 Sussex 6 6 3 1 4 
			 Thames Valley 5 4 7 4 2 
			 Warwickshire 16 7 8 4 3 
			 West Mercia 14 14 9 5 4 
			 West Midlands 4 4 3 2 1 
			 West Yorkshire 9 13 5 2 1 
			 Wiltshire 5 3 13 2 5 
			 (1) Data collated on behalf of and published by HMIC. (2) This table is based on full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. (3) Financial year runs 1 April to 31 March inclusive.

Police: Sick Leave

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what rates of sick leave were reported in each police force in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The data for the amount of police officer and police staff working time lost to sickness, have been collected centrally from 2002-03.
	Police officer and police staff sickness absence data for 2002-03 onwards are available on the Home Office website, located at:
	http://www.police.homeoffice.gov.uk/performance-and-measurement/performance-assessment/
	For 2002-03 and 2003-04, the data are given in the 2003-04 Police Performance Monitoring report, in the form of police officer and staff days lost per person per year.
	For 2004-05 onwards, the data are given in the annual Police Performance Assessment reports, in the form of average number of police officer and staff hours lost per person per year.

Safer Neighbourhood Teams

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to resize safer neighbourhood teams.

Tony McNulty: Decisions over the size of a Safer Neighbourhood or Neighbourhood Policing Team are operational considerations for the chief constable, in consultation with community partners and the communities themselves. Sir Ronnie Flanagan has recently endorsed this in his review, saying that there should be no "one size fits all" model or strategy.

Terrorism: Convictions

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals were convicted of terrorist offences in the UK in each year since 1978.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 14 March 2008
	The number of individuals convicted since 1978 under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Acts 1974 and 1976 is available on the Home Office website in "Statistics on the Operation of the Prevention of Terrorism Legislation, Great Britain". This publication details detentions under this Act and outcomes including statistics on individuals found guilty. It is available quarterly through the 'archive' page back to 1979.
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/hosbarchive.html
	The Terrorism Act 2000 came into force on 19 February 2001. Statistics compiled from police records are available on the Home Office website from 11 September 2001 to 31 March 2007:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/security/terrorism-and-the-law/?view=Standard
	These detail arrests under this Act and under other legislation where the investigation is considered terrorist related and the outcomes to those arrests, including convictions.
	For this period, there were 41 Terrorism Act convictions. There were also 183 convictions under other legislation.
	In addition to the aforementioned, statistics on the number of convictions in significant terrorist cases are collated for 2007 and 2008. In 2007, 37 individuals were convicted in 15 significant terrorist cases. 21 of those individuals pleaded guilty. So far in 2008, 21 people have been convicted in seven significant terrorist cases. Of these 21, 10 individuals pleaded guilty.
	Figures are complied from police records and are subject to change as cases go through the system. The Home Office is currently working with the police to review how terrorism statistics are collated.

Terrorism: Detainees

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Answer of 19 November 2007,  Official Report, column 505W, on terrorism: detainees, if she will provide an update on the numbers of people  (a) held,  (b) charged and  (c) released without charge.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 19 Match 2008
	Pre-charge detention came into force on 25 July 2006 as part of the Terrorism Act 2006. The latest figures are given in the following table. To date 11 individuals have been held for over 14 days pre-charge detention. Six individuals have been held for the maximum 27 to 28 day period. Of these three individuals were charged and three individuals were released without charge. Statistics are collated from police records and are updated accordingly.
	
		
			  Pre-charge detention to date 
			  Period of detention (days)  Number of persons held  Charged  Released w/o charge 
			 14 to 15 1 1 — 
			 18 to 19 1 1 — 
			 19 to 20 3 3 — 
			 27 to 28 6 3 3

WORK AND PENSIONS

Access to Work Programme

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions under what circumstances  (a) criminal and  (b) credit checks of employers claiming access to work funding are undertaken.

Anne McGuire: At present there are no criminal or credit checks on employers of Access to Work customers.

Access to Work Programme: Fraud

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what procedures are in place to prevent fraudulent claims for access to work funding.

Anne McGuire: Jobcentre Plus has a responsibility to use taxpayers' money wisely. Access to Work assessment procedures evaluate customer needs and identify the most cost effective but suitable support solution. In the majority of cases, external assessors carry out workplace based assessments. Once support has been agreed the customer or their employer purchase the support from a supplier of their choice up to the agreed funding level and claim reimbursement from Access to Work.
	Managerial checks are carried out to ensure validity of applications and that claims are adequately checked before payments are made. These checks also ensure that the correct amount is paid promptly to the relevant person or organisation and the amounts claimed are in line with the spend profiled for the customer.
	To further mitigate the risk of fraudulent claims or inappropriate support, all Access to Work customers receiving ongoing support are reviewed at least once annually to confirm that the appropriate support is being claimed and received. All customers complete a renewal declaration stating that any change of circumstances has been notified and the support meets their needs.

Children: Maintenance

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 17 July 2007,  Official Report, columns 205-06W, on children: maintenance, what the reasons were for recent statements by the staff operating the Child Support Agency (CSA) MP hotline that they are unable to contact the Bolton office of the CSA by telephone.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 25 March 2008
	The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephan Geraghty, dated 1 April 2008:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 17th July 2007, Official Report, columns 205-6W, on children: maintenance, what the reasons were for recent statements by the staff operating the Child Support Agency (CSA) MP hotline that they are unable to contact the Bolton Office of the CSA by telephone.
	In my previous letter to you I confirmed that when the Agency received a complaint relating to a clerical case managed by the Bolton site, the initial contact with the Bolton site was by email to ensure that all the necessary information to progress and resolve the client's concerns was gathered.
	Since my last response to you in July 2007, the Agency has addressed the concerns that you and others have raised about how the Bolton site was managing complaints. Our Minister, Lord McKenzie, also wrote to all Members of Parliament in July last year announcing the Agency's decision to increase the resource dedicated to managing the clerical caseload. All complaints involving Members of Parliament or the Independent Case Examiner were transferred to specialist caseworkers within the Agency at the end of last year. In addition the Agency now retains new clerical cases until the first maintenance payment has been received, allowing the Bolton site to concentrate on collecting and paying maintenance for children.
	These changes now mean that clerical cases are progressed in five separate sites across the Agency. To support these changes the Agency introduced a new database which allows all sites receiving queries relating to clerical cases to deal with all but the most complex of issues. Where the Agency is unable to resolve a query relating to a clerical case from the MP Hotline by reference to the database, the Agency now co-ordinates the response through a specialist team based in our Falkirk Centre. This team then takes responsibility for resolving the query and will contact the Member of Parliament to progress the case.
	I can assure you that the Agency is committed to improving the service to those clients whose cases are managed clerically and as a result of the additional resource dedicated to this area client service will continue to improve.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Construction: Death

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reasons the Health and Safety Executive has ended its publication of a running current total of construction fatalities.

Anne McGuire: The Health and Safety Executive does not publish a running total of construction fatalities. Its practice of providing such information to inquirers on request continues, on the understanding that numbers given are unvalidated, and therefore subject to change.
	Partially validated statistics on fatal injuries for all industries (including construction) are published on the HSE website on a quarterly basis, as are unvalidated details of fatalities presented in monthly reports made by HSE's Chief Executive to Health and Safety Commission (HSC) meetings.

Council Tax Benefits

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of households in England entitled to but not claiming council tax benefit at the latest date for which figures are available; and what savings accrue to the public purse from such non take-up of entitlement.

James Plaskitt: Estimates of the numbers not claiming their entitlement to council tax benefit, and the amount of council tax benefit that is not claimed are available in the DWP publication series entitled "Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up in 2005-06". Estimates relate to Great Britain only. Copies of the latest publication, plus past reports, can be found in the Library.
	There is no saving, relative to spending plans, from take-up of benefits being lower than 100 per cent. Forecasts of spending on benefits are based on estimates of those who will actually receive the benefit, not those who are entitled. This is in accordance with Government accounting rules that require forecasts to be taut and realistic.

Departmental Internet

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 6 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2806W, on the departmental intranet, whether his Department's IT system is able to provide a record of Wikipedia entries  (a) created and  (b) amended from within his Department.

Anne McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions is not able to provide a record of Wikipedia entries  (a) created and  (b) amended from within the Department as the cost of obtaining such data could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the hourly rates of pay of all non-permanent staff working for his Department and its agencies were in each of the last 12 months; and how many staff were receiving each rate in each of those months.

Anne McGuire: The information requested is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Working Hours

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many hours  (a) in total and  (b) on average per employee were worked by civil servants in his Department in the last year for which records are available.

Anne McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions does not collate records of the total or average hours that were worked by it's employees.
	To extract this information from individual records for the period requested would be at a disproportionate cost.

Housing Benefit: Antisocial Behaviour

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 22 February 2008,  Official Report, columns 1122-3W, on housing benefit: antisocial behaviour, what level of proof is needed for  (a) individuals and  (b) households to (i) be made the subject of an order for possession on grounds of anti-social behaviour and (ii) be found to have unreasonably refused to engage with the help and support offered as specified in a written warning notice.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 26 March 2008
	The Anti-social Behaviour Act ensures the courts must give particular consideration to the actual or likely effect which the antisocial behaviour has had or could have had on others when considering whether it is reasonable to grant a possession order on the grounds of nuisance or annoyance. This consideration does not remove the duty on the court to consider fairly the case against the tenant who is accused of committing or failing to prevent antisocial behaviour. This might include any particular circumstances that may have led to such conduct, (issues of mental health or drug or alcohol abuse for example). But in doing so, the court must also take into account the effect of their behaviour on their victims and the wider community.
	When a sanction in housing benefit is being considered, decisions on whether a household has unreasonably refused to engage with the help and support offered, will normally be made by a panel composed of senior officers drawn from relevant local authority departments and key support agencies. The panel should ensure that the package of support offered was properly determined, that a reasonable attempt has been made to engage with the household and also consider whether the household has good cause for failing to undertake action specified in the warning notice.
	The Department for Work and Pensions has issued detailed guidance on all aspects of the operation of the pilot schemes to the eight local authorities in the pilot areas; a copy of which has been placed in the Library.

ICT: Disabled

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what projects his Department has to assist disabled people to use computers; and how much funding each of these programmes received in the last 12 months.

Anne McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions is responsible for a range of mainstream and specialist employment programmes which can help disabled people move into or retain work.
	For example, subject to an assessment, Access to Work can provide whatever adjustment a customer needs to access a computer in order to do their job. Some WORKSTEP provision can assist customers to use computers if the job requires use of computers. Work preparation courses can also assist customers to use a computer if this is necessary to achieve and sustain their job goal. However, it is not possible to allocate programme costs specifically by activity.

Income Support: Lone Parents

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many lone parents in receipt of income support in the most recent period for which figures are available had  (a) one,  (b) two,  (c) three,  (d) four and  (e) five or more children.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 26 March 2008
	The requested information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of children in lone parent families in receipt of income support in Great Britain 
			  Number of children  Lone parents in receipt of income support 
			  All claimants 765,630 
			 One child 351,820 
			 Two children 246,700 
			 Three children 110,410 
			 Four children 39,690 
			 Five or more children 17,000 
			  Notes: 1. Lone parents are defined as single claimants with children under 16 and not receiving incapacity benefits. 2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.  3. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 4. Data are to May 2007.  Source: 100 per cent DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.

Industrial Health and Safety: Directors

Michael Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what format the evaluation of the voluntary health and safety guidance addressed to directors of corporate bodies and their equivalents in the public and third sectors will take; and when he expects to publish his findings.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 27 March 2008
	The HSE will commission an evaluation from independent researchers in two phases:
	(i) a survey focussing on the distribution, penetration and reception of the guidance within the target audience of directors of corporate bodies and their equivalents in the public and third sectors. This will be undertaken six months after launch, in May 2008.
	(ii) a survey designed to assess the extent and nature of change in behaviour of directors of corporate bodies and their equivalents in the public and third sectors. It is planned that this work should be undertaken within 18 months to two years of the launch of the guidance, with a final report published early in 2010.

Industrial Health and Safety: Directors

Michael Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of all organisations have agreed, in accordance with guidance issued by the Health and Safety Executive, to appoint voluntarily a director to take responsibility for safety and health duties in the  (a) private,  (b) public and  (c) third sectors.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 27 March 2008
	There is no evidence yet available on the impact of the guidance on director leadership issued jointly by the HSC and the Institute of Directors, published in November 2007.
	However, a programme of research was undertaken over four years following the issue in 2001 by the HSC of guidance on directors' responsibilities. This research involved a telephone survey examining the health and safety responsibilities of company directors and management board members in large organisations, and found:
	
		
			  Percentage where a board director has responsibility for health and safety 
			   Percentage of type 
			   2001  2003  2005 
			 Top 350 85 90 82 
			 Large Firms 73 87 84 
			 Public Sector 74 77 89 
			 Voluntary 86 55 (1)— 
			 All 75 82 85 
			 (1) Voluntary organisations were not surveyed in 2005 as the previous surveys found that the number of large voluntary organisations was relatively small and hence it was difficult to secure a response. 
		
	
	There is separate evidence available from a postal survey carried out as part of an evaluation of HSE's enforcement policy statement in 2004. This covered firms of all sizes (including sole traders, micro and small firms) and found that 44 per cent. of all organisations questioned, reported having a 'Health and Safety Board Director'. This included 33 per cent. of the charities questioned; 86 per cent. of central Government organisations; 67 per cent. of local government organisations; and 50 per cent. of social services.

Industrial Health and Safety: Directors

Michael Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he is considering the introduction of statutory health and safety duties for company directors; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 27 March 2008
	Government are committed to promoting greater director leadership, and supports Health and Safety Commission efforts to achieve high standards of board level leadership through advice, guidance and enforcement.
	Government are keeping the question of new legal duties for directors on health and safety under review.

Industrial Health and Safety: Prosecutions

Michael Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many successful prosecutions of company directors there were for breaching section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 in each of the last six years for which figures are available, broken down by industrial sector.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 27 March 2008
	For the period 1994 to 2004, section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 was used to bring proceedings against a total of 111 company directors in relation to various health and safety management matters. Of these, 86 were convicted and 11 jailed.
	The more detailed breakdown of the figures requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of claimants of  (a) jobseekers allowance,  (b) incapacity benefit and  (c) income support who were living abroad in each of the last 10 years.

James Plaskitt: Neither jobseeker's allowance, nor income support are payable to people who live outside Great Britain. Further, 0.45 per cent. only of incapacity benefits claimants live abroad.
	An EC regulation co-ordinates member states' social security schemes for workers who move between member states. The EC regulation provides that generally, sickness and invalidity benefits must be exported if a beneficiary moves to another member state, although there are some restrictions on the export of sickness benefit. In effect, people in Great Britain who qualify for contributory incapacity benefit (IB) because they have made sufficient national insurance contributions, can continue to receive their benefit if they take up permanent residence in one of the other EU member states. The agreement also extends to the states of the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland. The UK also has reciprocal arrangements with a number of non-European countries (e.g. USA, Jamaica) some of which include similar arrangements for people from Great Britain to continue to receive contributory benefit when they move there and vice-versa.
	Of those receiving IB abroad most live in the Republic of Ireland and Spain and smaller numbers across a wide range of other European countries. Very few live outside Europe. They include both British expatriates and nationals of other countries who have worked and paid contributions in Great Britain and have then returned to their own country. They also include "pro rata" cases where the benefit is paid partly by the UK and partly by a foreign authority as customers have contributed to insurance schemes in both Great Britain and an EEA state.
	The available information for incapacity benefits is in the table.
	
		
			  Incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance claimants in Great Britain and abroad; as at May each year 
			  Quarter ending  GB  Claimants living abroad 
			 1998 2,784,500 9,400 
			 1999 2,744,300 9,000 
			 2000 2,728,090 10,230 
			 2001 2,795,340 10,430 
			 2002 2,807,630 10,800 
			 2003 2,815,660 11,300 
			 2004 2,814,710 11,740 
			 2005 2,783,720 12,130 
			 2006 2,730,000 12,050 
			 2007 2,685,320 12,010 
			  Notes: 1. Caseload figures prior to May 2000 are rounded to the nearest 100, and to the nearest 10 thereafter. 2. Incapacity benefit (IB) and severe disablement allowance (SDA) claimant figures include IB credits only cases. 3. Caseload figures prior to May 2000 have been produced using 5 per cent. data and rated up proportionally using 100 per cent. WPLS totals. 4. Great Britain totals may include a small number of claimants living abroad. 5. It is possible to receive IB/SDA in another country in the European Economic Area (EEA) or a country which has a social security agreement with the United Kingdom, or short-term IB for up to 26 weeks under certain conditions.  Source: IAD Information Centre 5 per cent. samples—May 1998 to May 1999 and DWP Information Directorate, Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study, 100 per cent. data—May 2000 onwards.

Social Security Benefits: Prisoners

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was paid to prisoners in each type of benefit in each of the last five years.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available.

Winter Fuel Payments

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the winter fuel allowance was worth, expressed as a percentage of  (a) average fuel bills and  (b) average pensioner fuel bills in each of the last 10 years for which information is available, broken down by region.

Mike O'Brien: The winter fuel payment is intended to provide a contribution towards winter heating bills which account for around 60 per cent. of the total annual fuel bill. The payment provides a significant contribution to these higher winter costs. Winter fuel payments have increased from £20 in 1997-98 to the current value of £200 for households with someone aged 60 to 79 years of age, and £300 for households with someone aged 80 or over.
	Next winter, 2008-09, a one-off additional payment will be made. Households with someone aged 60 to 79 will receive an extra £50 giving them £250 and households with someone aged 80 or over will receive an extra £100 giving them £400.
	The following table shows the winter fuel payment as a percentage of average winter fuel bills for all households, by region. Information relating to pensioner household expenditure on fuel broken down by region is not available. Obviously these figures will be significantly affected by the Budget announcement.
	
		
			  Year and rate of winter fuel payment (WFP) 
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000   2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2003-04  2004-05  2004-05  2005-06  2005-06 
			  Region  £20  £20  £100  £200  £200  £200  £200  £300  £200  £300  £200  £300 
			  WFP as a percentage of average winter fuel bill for all households 
			 North East 5 6 27 57 53 55 56 84 56 84 54 81 
			 North West 5 5 26 54 56 55 55 83 54 81 51 76 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 5 6 27 56 59 58 58 87 54 81 51 76 
			 East Midlands 5 6 27 55 55 53 54 81 53 80 52 78 
			 West Midlands 5 5 26 53 55 56 56 84 55 82 51 76 
			 East of England 6 6 28 58 54 55 54 81 53 79 50 74 
			 London 6 6 29 59 61 61 59 89 57 86 53 80 
			 South East 6 6 28 57 53 55 54 81 54 81 51 76 
			 South West 6 6 29 57 55 53 53 80 53 79 51 76 
			 Wales 5 5 25 53 54 54 53 79 50 76 48 72 
			 Scotland 5 5 25 52 53 52 52 78 50 76 48 71 
			  Notes: 1. From winter 2003-04 the winter fuel payment increased to 300 for people aged 80 or over. 2. The percentage figures in the tables are based on an average of all households expenditure on fuel, by region.  Source: Family Spending Surveys 2002-03 to 2005-06.

OLYMPICS

Olympic Games 2012: Construction

Don Foster: To ask the Minister for the Olympics with reference to the answer of 25 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 1630-31W, on the London Olympics, whether the detailed plan being developed by Constructing London 2012 to deliver locally available construction skills to build the Olympic and Paralympic infrastructure has been published.

Tessa Jowell: ConstructionSkills will be publishing its Greater London Strategy later this year, which will include skills and employment programmes for the 2012 games and other major construction projects scheduled for the capital in the next five years.
	In the meantime, ConstructionSkills is part of the partnership which is delivering the Employment and Skills Strategy launched by the Olympic Delivery Authority in February. The strategy sets out how the ODA will work with a range of public and private sector partners to help its contractors recruit the 9,000-10,000 construction workers that will be needed at peak in 2009-10 while at the same time helping people develop sustainable skills and a long term career path after the games.

Olympic Games 2012: Construction

Don Foster: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what steps she has taken to provide to the local workforce training in the specialist skills required to fill the 33,500 additional jobs identified by Construction Skills as necessary to complete preparations for the London 2012 Olympics.

Tessa Jowell: The London Development Agency, which leads on maximising the employment and skills benefits of the games in London, forecasts the demands for jobs on site. It also provides important recommendations about workforce training requirements, directly informing the joint construction training programme, as set out in the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA's) Employment and Skills Strategy. The strategy sets out how the ODA will work with a range of public and private sector partners to help its contractors recruit the 9,000-10,000 construction workers that will be needed at peak in 2009-10, and helps local employees develop their skills.
	The Olympic site becoming a National Skills Academy for Construction (NSAfC) is a critical part of this. The NSAfC co-ordinates training provision to meet the identified needs of the project, bringing together contractors and their supply chains, colleges and private providers, funding bodies and other agencies. Detailed plans are currently being prepared, which are expected to include targets for training local people.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the  (a) quality and  (b) quantity of food supplies to (i) British forces and (ii) ISAF forces in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: All food supplied to all British and ISAF forces meets EU Quality and Food Safety Standards. Quality assurance checks are carried out throughout the supply chain and food quality is continually monitored by deployed chefs and food supply staff. UK technical staff also regularly visit theatre to monitor quality.
	In terms of quantity, a large reserve of both operational ration packs (ORPs) and commercial food is held in Kabul to ensure that all demands from the front line are met. Both Main Operating Bases and Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) that are catering with ORPs are also provided with fresh food, the quantities of which are only ever impeded by the physical logistics of the challenging environment.
	The feeding arrangements in main ISAF locations are the responsibility of NATO. I am aware, however, that UK NATO Food Services Staff have regular discussions with the Contractor and NATO regarding the dining facilities and that no official complaints have been received.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to prevent menu fatigue amongst UK forces in Afghanistan issued with 24-hour operational ration packs; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: We place the utmost importance on ensuring our troops are properly fed on operations, and indeed throughout the world. Huge effort goes into nutritional analysis, designing and planning menus, delivering food stocks and preparing food to ensure our men and women have all the proper nutrition they need to carry out their demanding and important tasks. We are aware that menu fatigue can arise, however, and every effort is made to alleviate it.
	There are 10 General Purpose menus available in the 24 hour Operational Ration Packs (ORP), and plans are under way to increase this number to 14. There are also five Halal, five Sikh/Hindu and five Kosher/Vegetarian variants and five 10 Man ORP variants available. The majority of remote operating locations also receive supplies of fresh food at least once a week which are used to supplement ORPs.
	Royal Logistics Corps chefs have now been deployed to all of the Forward Operating Bases, and provide cooked meals for personnel using ORPs and fresh food supplies. Meals in the larger bases are generally provided from a three to four week multiple choice menu cycle. All chefs supporting the British armed forces on operations take great pride in providing a varied and high quality menu and are very responsive to customer feedback. Unit commanders are also provided with guidance on how to ensure that personnel remain properly nourished and hydrated on operations.

Armed Forces: Fisheries

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many hours were spent policing fisheries legislation in the Irish Sea and North Channel by  (a) RAF Nimrods,  (b) RAF aircraft other than Nimrods and  (c) Royal Navy vessels in the last 12 months; and what personnel were involved.

Bob Ainsworth: The Royal Air Force does not undertake fishery protection duties.
	The Royal Navy does not keep records of hourly activity of fishery protection vessels (FPVs), but records patrol days (24 hr period). In the last 12 months—1 March 2007 to 29 February 2008—FPVs were on task in the Irish sea (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea Area 107A) for 78 days: 55 days by river class vessels and 23 days by hunt class vessels. The average ships complement numbers for river class vessels is 32 and for hunt class vessels it is 37.

Armed Forces: Food

Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the maximum period is that UK forces are expected to subsist on 24-hour operational ration packs alone.

Bob Ainsworth: There is no defined maximum period for the use of 24 hour operational ration packs (ORP) as the main source of nutrition. A recent study commissioned by the MOD found that, providing it is consumed in its entirety, there is no nutritional evidence to suggest that healthy personnel could not subsist on 24 hour ORPs indefinitely. Personnel deployed on extended patrols usually live on ORP for the duration of their task, although whenever possible, ORPs (both the 24 hour and 10 man variants) are supplemented by fresh produce cooked by service chefs.

Armed Forces: Housing

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's policy is on disposing of homes which have become surplus to the needs of forces personnel; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The majority of Service Family Accommodation (SFA) properties in England and Wales were sold to Annington Homes Ltd. (AHL) in 1996 and then leased to the Ministry of Defence (MOD). When they become surplus to defence requirements the properties are handed back to AHL for disposal.
	Other surplus SFA in the UK is usually sold on the open market to achieve best value in accordance with Treasury guidelines, unless they are required by other public bodies (e.g. English Partnerships, Scottish Executive) or there are former owner (Crichel Down) considerations.
	Where the opportunity exists for a bulk sale of SFA at market value, MOD will discuss the way forward with the local authority and registered social landlords.

Armed Forces: Housing

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many homes his Department sold in each local authority area of Scotland in each year since 1997; and what proportion of those homes were sold or otherwise transferred to the relevant local authority or a registered social landlord in each of those years.

Derek Twigg: Records of all Service housing sold in Scotland since 1997 are either not held centrally or no longer available. It will take a time to establish what information can be provided without incurring disproportionate cost and effort. I will write to the hon. Member.

Armed Forces: Influenza

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 7 January 2008,  Official Report, column 24W, on armed forces: influenza, whether the supplies of  (a) influenza vaccine,  (b) anti-virals and  (c) face masks deployed to theatre in the event of an influenza pandemic will also be made available to (i) coalition partners and (ii) local inhabitants; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: For NATO deployments, force protection is a national responsibility. The World Health Organisation is ultimately responsible for the protection of civilian local inhabitants. As with any medical supplies, decisions on their use in specific instances will be made on a case-by-case basis, taking into account operational and humanitarian factors.

Armed Forces: Influenza

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department holds stocks of  (a) vaccines and  (b) anti-virals for use by the armed forces for the treatment of seasonal influenza; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The Department holds stocks of both vaccines and antivirals for the treatment of seasonal influenza. These will be offered if necessary to specific groups of personnel (such as key workers in the Defence Medical Services), in accordance with the national guidance from the UK Departments of Health.

Armed Forces: Influenza

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to paragraph 15 of the Defence Medical Services Department's policy letter of 20 January 2006, entitled "The use of influenza vaccines and anti-virals in the event of an influenza pandemic by the Defence Medical Services", reference DMSD/13/1/4; whether he has any plans to use anti-virals for prophylaxis before a pandemic is established; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: MOD's policy on the use of vaccines and antivirals with regard to an influenza pandemic follows the Department of Health's national guidelines. For the majority of armed forces personnel there are no plans for prophylactic use, as this is not in accordance with the UK national policy.

Armed Forces: Labour Turnover

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) inflow,  (b) outflow and  (c) voluntary outflow rate was of officers at (i) OF-1, (ii) OF-2 and (iii) OF-3 levels in each service in each year since 1997.

Derek Twigg: The information requested is provided in the following tables:
	
		
			  Inflow( 1)  rates( 2)  to UK regular forces( 3)  from civil life by rank 
			  Rate per 100 people 
			  Financial year  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Navy(4)   
			 OF-3 0.3 0.0 0.3 0.4 0.3 0.1 0.4 0.4 0.2 (6)0.1 
			 OF-2 1.3 0.9 1.0 1.4 1.0 1.5 1.1 1.6 1.1 (6)0.9 
			 OF-1 34.0 34.0 36.1 35.0 34.1 34.6 31.0 39.7 43.2 (6)44.6 
			
			 Army(5)   
			 OF-3 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.1 
			 OF-2 1.3 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.2 1.2 0.9 1.2 1.2 1.4 
			 OF-1 12.7 9.3 10.7 8.7 7.9 9.2 7.2 5.8 5.8 6.9 
			
			 RAF   
			 OF-3 0.2 0.0 0.2 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.2 
			 OF-2 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.5 0.8 0.7 0.4 1.0 
			 OF-1 24.1 23.1 23.2 21.7 20.6 22.3 25.0 17.9 19.8 21.7 
			  Source:  DASA (Quad-Service) 
		
	
	
		
			  Outflow( 7)  rates( 2)  from UK regular forces( 3)  to civil life by rank 
			  Rate per 100 people 
			  Financial year  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Navy(4)   
			 OF-3 7.2 6.7 8.0 6.2 6.6 6.2 6.1 6.5 7.2 (6)6.6 
			 OF-2 7.2 6.3 6.5 5.3 6.4 5.3 4.5 5.0 5.3 (6)5.1 
			 OF-1 10.6 6.7 5.6 6.6 6.3 7.8 7.3 8.6 7.9 (6)9.9 
			
			 Army(5)   
			 OF-3 6.2 6.9 6.4 7.1 7.3 6.3 6.0 6.9 7.0 8.7 
			 OF-2 10.6 10.8 8.1 8.0 6.7 5.7 5.6 6.8 7.7 8.3 
			 OF-1 5.7 7.0 5.6 6.4 4.7 5.3 5.3 5.4 2.9 3.4 
			
			 RAF   
			 OF-3 7.3 7.6 7.1 6.6 8.3 6.3 6.7 9.0 8.6 11.8 
			 OF-2 4.5 4.7 4.2 5.5 4.4 3.9 4.9 4.8 5.0 6.7 
			 OF-1 3.3 2.9 2.9 2.2 3.0 2.3 2.1 4.2 2.7 2.7 
		
	
	
		
			  Voluntary outflow rates( 8)  from trained UK regular forces( 3)  to civil life by rank 
			  Rate per 100 people 
			  Financial year  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 Navy(4)   
			 OF-3 2.6 2.8 4.1 2.9 3.7 2.4 2.9 2.6 3.4 (6)3.3 
			 OF-2 2.3 2.6 3.7 2.5 3.8 2.7 2.4 2.4 2.7 (6)2.7 
			 OF-1 0.6 0.0 1.4 0.8 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 (6)0.0 
			
			 Army(9)   
			 OF-3 3.5 3.9 3.7 4.8 5.0 3.6 4.1 4.4 4.7 n/a 
			 OF-2 4.5 4.4 3.5 4.3 4.5 3.4 4.0 4.5 4.9 n/a 
			 OF-1 0.7 0.9 0.2 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.2 0.2 n/a 
			
			 RAF   
			 OF-3 2.9 2.6 2.3 2.5 3.2 2.0 1.8 2.6 2.8 3.8 
			 OF-2 1.5 1.8 1.6 2.3 2.0 1.6 1.9 2.0 2.0 1.9 
			 OF-1 0.4 1.2 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.2 1.4 
			 n/a = unavailable (1) Figures show all intake to UK regular forces including re-enlistments and rejoined reservists. (2) Inflow and outflow rates have been calculated using total (trained and untrained) strength as at 1 April of each year. (3) Figures are for UK regular forces and therefore excludes Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service personnel, the Home Service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment and mobilised reservists. NATO Rank is based on JPA field 'Paid Rank', if this field is blank then NATO Rank is based on JPA field 'Substantive Rank' (4) Due to the introduction of a new personnel administration system, Naval Service statistics from 1 October 2006 are provisional and subject to review. (5) Due to the introduction of a new personnel administration system, Army outflow data by rank for 1 March 2007 to 31 March 2007 are not available. Consequently, Army figures for 2006-07 are the latest available, comprising flows during the period 1 March 2006 to 28 February 2007. (6) Denotes provisional. (7) Figures show all outflow from UK regular forces including recalled reservists on release and outflow to the Home Service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment (8) Voluntary outflow rates have been calculated using trained strength only as at 1 April of each year. (9) Due to ongoing validation of data from the new personnel administration system, Army voluntary outflow data for 2006-07 are currently unavailable.  Source: DASA (Quad-Service)

Armed Forces: Pay

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average pay for soldiers at each rank was in each year since 1997.

Bob Ainsworth: The following table provides tri-service estimates of average annual basic pay by rank for each year since 1997.
	
		
			  Estimate of average annual salary( 1)  by NATO rank( 2) 
			   NATO rank 
			   OR9  OR8  OR7  OR6  OR4  OR3  OR2  OR1( 3) 
			 1997-98 26,800 24,800 23,400 20,500 18,200 15,600 12,400 9,300 
			 1998-99 27,700 25,600 24,200 21,100 18,800 16,100 12,900 9,600 
			 1999-2000 29,000 26,800 25,300 22,100 19,700 16,900 13,500 10,100 
			 2000-01(4) 30,200 27,900 26,400 23,100 20,500 17,700 14,200 10,600 
			  
			 2001-02 33,400 31,100 29,400 26,000 22,900 19,300 15,300 11,600 
			 2002-03 35,000 32,300 30,500 27,000 23,700 20,000 15,900 12,100 
			 2003-04 36,200 33,400 31,600 27,900 24,700 20,700 16,500 12,500 
			 2004-05 37,200 34,300 32,500 28,700 25,400 21,300 17,000 12,900 
			 2005-06 38,300 35,300 33,500 29,500 26,100 21,900 17,500 13,200 
			 2006-07 39,500 36,400 34,500 30,400 26,900 22,600 18,100 13,700 
			 2007-08 40,800 37,600 35,600 31,500 27,800 23,300 18,800 14,500 
			 (1) Estimates of average annual salaries are based on basic pay only and do not include any allowances. They are calculated by multiplying fixed pay level strengths by the corresponding yearly pay rates. As such they will not include the effects of changes to the spread of pay levels within each rank caused by annual increments, promotions, exits and intakes. The figures provided in this table are taken from calculations used for the Military Salaries Index, a copy of which is available in the UK Defence Statistics at Table 2.26. http://www.dasa.mod.uk/natstats/ukds/2007/c2/table226.html Note that UKDS Table 2.26 also includes illustrative rates. These are actual rates corresponding to the pay level populated by the most service personnel of that rank and will therefore differ from the estimates of average rates of pay provided in this answer. (2) An explanation of the relationship between NATO rank codes and UK service ranks is provided on page 3 of TSP9 available at http://www.dasa.mod.uk/natstats/tsp9/tsp9tab4.html (3 )OR1 estimates include personnel on New Entrant rates of pay and personnel on Artificer Apprentices, Probationary Medical and Communications Technicians rates of pay. (4) There is a discontinuity between 2000-01 and 2001-02—signified by the blank row—which is due to the introduction of a new pay system, Pay 2000. The resulting changes to the structure of military salaries meant that the individual pay rates could not be tracked over this period. As such while estimates since 2001-02 are based on strengths by pay level as at 1 May 2005 estimates prior to this will be based on historic pay strengths under the previous pay structure.  Note: All estimates of average annual salary are rounded to the nearest £100.

Armed Forces: Pensions

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the number of beneficiaries of pension-sharing orders for armed forces pensions under the age of 65 years whose former spouse already receives a pension.

Derek Twigg: The precise number of beneficiaries of pension-sharing orders for armed forces pensions under the age of 65 years where the former spouse already receives a pension is not held, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	As a broad estimate, however, there are some 1,800 beneficiaries whose pension share will become payable from age 60, and another 450 that will commence from age 65.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what caps or restrictions have been placed on the recruitment for the  (a) Army,  (b) Navy and  (c) RAF in each year since 2005; and what plans there are for the next financial year.

Bob Ainsworth: Restrictions are placed on military recruiting in terms of the overall manning requirement and quality of the individuals applying. The numbers of recruits required every year are derived from the requirement for trained manpower to sustain the service's delivery of operational capability and the manning structures that support it. In order to assure operational capability, recruits must meet the three services' entry standards.
	
		
			  Services recruitment achievement levels (percentage) 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			   Target  Intake/  percentage  Target  Intake/  percentage  Target  Intake/  percentage  Target  Intake/  percentage 
			 Naval Service 3,753 3,690 3,933 3,940 4,029 (1)3,770 4,272 (1)3,760 
			  — 98 — 100 — 94 — 88 
			  
			 Army 12,252 11,720 13,402 12,730 13,950 (1)14,300 14,544 (1)14,550 
			  — 96 — 95 — 103 — 100 
			  
			 RAF 2,209 2,180 1,500 1,480 1,887 1,720 3,085 (1)2,510 
			  — 99 — 99 — 91 — 81 
			  
			 All services 18,214 17,590 18,835 18,150 19,866 (1)19,790 21,901 (1)20,830 
			  — 97 — 96 — 100 — 95 
			 (1) Due to ongoing JPA data validation the figures are provisional and subject to review. Therefore the tri-service total is provisional.  Notes: 1. Recruiting target figures provided by single services. Figures for FY 2007-08 show position as at 31 January 2008. 2. All intake from civil life figures have been provided by DASA (Quad-Service)—TSP 1. Numbers have been rounded to nearest 10. Due to the rounding methods used, totals may not equal the sum of the parts.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people from Yorkshire and the Humber were recruited into each of the armed services in each year since 2001.

Bob Ainsworth: The information is not held in the format requested to allow the identification of those recruited to the armed forces who originated from a particular region within the UK. It is possible, however, to ascertain the number recruited through the Armed Forces Career Offices within the Yorkshire/Humberside area and these are given in the following table. Please note that figures are not available for RAF personnel before 2003-04 as these were not centrally held. Figures for naval officers are also not included as they are recruited through the auspices of the Officer Career Liaison Offices of which there are six nationwide. These cover too wide a geographical area to provide useful information in this response.
	
		
			   Royal Navy  Royal Marines  Army  RAF 
			 2001-02 282 114 1,334 — 
			 2002-03 300 92 1,509 — 
			 2003-04 206 84 1,301 297 
			 2004-05 192 65 1,015 191 
			 2005-06 178 101 1,110 156 
			 2006-07 178 70 1,386 206 
			 2007-08 (as at 25 March) 170 65 1,210 259

Armed Forces: Schools

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to extend the skill force programme in schools.

Derek Twigg: Skill Force was started in September 2000 by the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Education and Skills (now the Department for Children, Schools and Families). It uses ex-military instructors to provide the teams which support schools to re-engage disaffected 14 to 16-year-olds with vocationally based education. It was always intended that Skill Force should become a charity and in 2004 it received charitable status.
	Since then MOD has provided Skill Force with £10.3 million and funding from other Government Departments (DfES now DCSF) amounts to £9 million. Skill Force will become fully self-supporting in Financial Year 2009-10 when further funding from MOD will cease. Thereafter, the expansion of Skill Force into schools will not be an MOD responsibility.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) orders outstanding for,  (b) initial date of announcement for procurement and  (c) expected delivery date are for the (i) Pitbull, (ii) Mastiff, (iii) Bulldog and (iv) Ridgeback armoured vehicles.

Bob Ainsworth: There is no vehicle named Pitbull in UK military service. The hon. Member may be referring to the Mobility Weapon Mount Installation Kit (MWMIK), now to be named Jackal in service with UK armed forces. Of the 130 vehicles in the initial order, some 60 have now been delivered. We have announced our intention to procure a further 72 vehicles, with the full quantity of over 200 vehicles expected to be delivered by the end of the year. We announced our intention to procure the initial order in June 2007.
	We have ordered over 280 Mastiff vehicles. The first tranche has been completely delivered, with 174 remaining to be delivered by mid 2009. The intention to procure the first tranche of Mastiff was announced in July 2006.
	We are converting 900 FV430 vehicles with an upgraded drivetrain to the Mk3, or Bulldog, specification. For operations in Iraq over 100 of these vehicles have been upgraded further (including with additional protection) and this variant has been fully delivered. We announced our intention to procure up-armoured Bulldog in July 2006.
	The intention to procure some 150 Ridgeback was announced in December 2007. As contract details have still to be finalised, none have been delivered and schedules have not yet been set.

Charter Flights

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on chartering transport aircraft in 2007.

Bob Ainsworth: Chartered aircraft are used to transport freight and personnel when RAF assets are not available, generally due to operational commitments, and when there is a requirement for additional or specialist airlift that it would not be cost-effective to provide in-house.
	The expenditure in 2007 was £111 million in direct support of operations and £7 million on core general business.

Civil Service Appeal Board

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of appeals by employees of  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies were (i) heard and (ii) upheld by the Civil Service Appeal Board in each of the last 10 years; how much was awarded in compensation by the Board to each successful appellant in each year; what the reason was for each compensation award; how many appellants were reinstated by the Board in each year; and what the reason was for each (A) dismissal and (B) reinstatement.

Derek Twigg: Statistics for appeals made to the Civil Service Appeal Board (CSAB) by MOD Civil Servants prior to 2004 are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The information in the following tables represents both departmental and agency figures as some agencies have only one or two cases and there exists a duty to protect the identity of individuals concerned within the scope of the Data Protection Act 1998.
	The figures for appeals made to the Civil Service Appeal Board by MOD Civil Servants from 2004-2005 onwards are:
	
		
			  2004-05 
			   Number/percentage 
			 Number of CSABs heard 15 
			 Number of CSAB upheld 3 
			 Upheld (percentage) 20 
		
	
	 Successful Appellants
	1. Compensation award £30,684.66—CSAB found insufficient evidence of fraudulent intent.
	2. Compensation award £17,667.55—CSAB found dismissal unfair on grounds of failing to satisfy the substantive issue.
	3. Original Departmental Review Board compensation award increased from 75 per cent. to 100 per cent. due to new medical evidence.
	 Failed Appellants
	Original reason for dismissal:
	Six gross misconduct
	Three unsatisfactory attendance
	Two redundancy
	One unsatisfactory performance.
	
		
			  2005-06 
			   Number/percentage 
			 Number of CSABs heard 16 
			 Number of CSAB upheld 1 
			 Upheld (percentage 6 
		
	
	 Successful Appellants
	Original compensation award increased by 50 per cent. due to medical evidence.
	 Failed Appellants
	Original reason for dismissal:
	10 gross misconduct
	Three redundancy
	Two unsatisfactory attendance.
	
		
			  2006-07 
			   Number/percentage 
			 Number of CSABs Heard 14 
			 Number of CSAB Upheld 4 
			 Upheld (percentage) 29 
		
	
	 Successful Appellants
	1. Compensation award £66,226.13—failure to provide internal appeal process.
	2. Compensation award ongoing—failure to provide internal appeal process.
	3. Dismissal had been procedurally unfair, no award on the basis of 100 per cent. contributory fault.
	4. Dismissal had been procedurally unfair, no award on the basis of 100 per cent. contributory fault.
	 Failed Appellants
	Original reason for dismissal:
	Five gross misconduct
	Four unsatisfactory attendance
	One unsatisfactory performance.

Colchester

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will make available empty Ministry of Defence residential dwellings in Colchester constituency for  (a) the short-term and  (b) long-term use by (i) Colchester Borough Council and (ii) relevant housing associations; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of how much has been received by Annington Estates in  (a) 2007-08 and  (b) the previous 10 years for which figures are available in payments for rent in respect of vacant residential dwellings for military personnel in Colchester constituency.

Derek Twigg: Service family accommodation (SFA) is provided to house service personnel and their dependants, and in England and Wales most SFA is owned by Annington Homes Ltd. (AHL). Surplus properties are returned to that company. In Colchester some unoccupied properties have been used to accommodate single service personnel while new single living accommodation (SLA) blocks are being built. However, as new SLA becomes available the SFA properties are returned to AHL. For instance around 100 properties have been identified for return to AHL in Financial Year 2008-09. For these, among other, reasons we have no current plans to make empty SFA available for non-military use.
	Out of the 1,094 SFA properties at Colchester some 219 are currently void (not in use for their intended purpose). Void stock includes SFA being held for planned moves of service units, or awaiting planned upgrades, sale or release, modernisation or demolition. The Department is taking a number of steps to reduce the amount of void SFA. Since March 2007, the total number of void SFA worldwide has reduced from 13,336 to 12,240 properties.
	Whether SFA is occupied or not, we pay the same rent to AHL, an average of £3,500 per annum per property, It is thus not possible to identify the rent paid to AHL for void properties in this and previous years, as no separate assessment of the cost of void SFA is made.

Departmental Databases

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether  (a) companies based in the United States and  (b) UK subsidiaries of US companies have been contracted by his Department and its agencies to provide services involving the use, storage, processing or analysis of databases of personal information held by the Government on UK citizens in the last five years.

Bob Ainsworth: My Department including its agencies has engaged a US registered service provider and UK subsidiaries of US registered service providers to manage storage, processing or analysis of personal information during the last five years.
	The Data Protection Act 1998 includes provisions to ensure that personal data benefits from adequate protection when it is transferred outside the European economic area(1) by UK data controllers. Contracts are based on UK contract law with the applicable statutory safeguards.
	(1) The 27 EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

Departmental Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the hourly rates of pay of all non-permanent staff working for his Department and its agencies were in each of the last 12 months; and how many staff were receiving each rate in each of those months.

Derek Twigg: Due to the way historic records are held, individual hourly rates of pay by month could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the average hourly rate of basic salary for 1,329 casual staff paid in March 2008 was £9.42. These figures exclude any employer contributions such as national insurance.

Departmental Translation Services

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 4 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2347W, on departmental translation services, how much was spent on translation services into  (a) Welsh and  (b) other languages in (i) 2003-04 and (ii) 2004-05.

Derek Twigg: The following was spent on centrally-contracted MOD translation services into:
	 Welsh
	2003-04: £2,378
	2004-05: £2,785
	 Other languages
	2003-04: £57,403
	2004-05: £101,865

Departmental Working Hours

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many hours  (a) in total and  (b) on average per employee were worked by civil servants in his Department in the last year for which records are available.

Derek Twigg: The annual number of hours worked by civil servants in the Ministry of Defence during 2007-08 was about 140.5 million, representing an average per employee of about 1,950 hours (equivalent to 37.5 hours per week). This figure is extrapolated from an analysis of hours worked in the first week of March 2008. It includes basic conditioned hours plus overtime and any other additional working hours, but excludes staff employed in MOD Trading Funds or locally employed staff overseas.

Departments: Manpower

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many press officers are employed by his Department.

Derek Twigg: On 27 July 2007 there were 22 press officers employed in the Ministry of Defence's central press office in London, and seven press officers employed in Regional Press Offices. This answer does not include those employed as press officers in Defence Agencies, the Permanent Joint Headquarters, single Service Commands or at unit level, some of whom have a press officer task in addition to their main role. An audit is being conducted by MOD of overall numbers and roles of personnel involved in communications in order to assist with implementation of the Defence Communications Strategy. When this audit concludes, key findings will be made available through the MOD's website and I will write to you.
	 Substantive reply from Derek Twigg to Mark Hoban:
	I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Question of 3 September 2007 (Official Report, column 1619W) about the number of press officers employed at the Ministry of Defence. I noted that this information was not available for staff outside the Department's Press Office, but that an audit was being conducted.
	In July 2007 there were 22 press officers employed in the MOD Central Press Office in London, and 7 press officers employed in Regional Press Offices.
	The audit I have undertaken is now concluded, and it indicates that across Defence the number of people performing press officer functions is around 70, although it is impossible to give a precise figure, and some of these also have other duties. A number of other individuals are involved in communication activity but do not have a press officer role.
	I hope this information is helpful, and I am very sorry that it has taken me so long to get back to you.
	I am placing a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Iraq: Compensation

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the Government paid in compensation to Iraqi nationals injured by British armed forces in Iraq in each year since 2003.

Des Browne: Since 2003 the Ministry of Defence has paid £3,340,000 in compensation to Iraqi nationals injured or killed by British forces as follows:
	
		
			  Financial year  Total payments (£) 
			 2003-04 753,000 
			 2004-05 331,000 
			 2005-06 98,000 
			 2006-07 158,000 
			 2007-08 2,000,000

Military Aircraft: Helicopters

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many flying hours were completed by  (a) Apache Attack helicopter,  (b) Gazelle,  (c) Lynx Mk3,  (d) Lynx Mk7,  (e) Lynx Mk8,  (f) Lynx Mk9,  (g) Merlin Mk1 and  (h) Merlin Mk3 helicopters in the armed forces in the last 12 months.

Bob Ainsworth: The flying hours completed during the last 12 months, broken down by helicopter type, are as follows:
	
		
			  Helicopter type  Flying hours 
			 Apache Attack Helicopter 11,777 
			 Gazelle 12,032 
			 Lynx Mark 3 6,392 
			 Lynx Mark 7 13,607 
			 Lynx Mark 8 5,407 
			 Lynx Mark 9 4,550 
			 Merlin Mark 1 6,683 
			 Merlin Mark 3 5,466

Radar: Wind Power

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 20 March 2008,  Official Report, column 1311W, on radar: wind power, what guidelines his Department provides on the siting of wind farms in relation to maintaining working aerial defences; and how many planning applications have been refused on the grounds that windmills may interfere with defence equipment.

Derek Twigg: All wind farm applications which are assessed to fall within line of sight of an air defence radar are subject to individual consideration. This scrutiny includes consideration of a range of factors which will be particular to each application in order to assess the likely operational impact of the scheme should it proceed. An objection will be lodged if the operational impact is assessed as being unmanageable. Where an objection is lodged mitigation options will be suggested to the developer where possible.
	The Ministry of Defence does not hold information on planning applications refused, however, since 2005 the Department has objected to 54 pre-planning applications for wind turbines on the grounds of interference with defence equipment. Of those objections, three were subsequently withdrawn.

Rapid Reaction Corps

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the Rapid Reaction Corps to move to RAF Innsworth; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Ainsworth: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 January 2008,  Official Report, column 1604W.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Cultural Heritage

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 3 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 2121-2W, on cultural heritage, how many people each percentage figure represents.

Margaret Hodge: Pursuant to the answer of 3 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 2121-2W, the table previously supplied is repeated with additional information relating to population.
	The table shows the percentage of people from our priority groups and the population as a whole who had made at least one visit to a designated heritage site during the 12 months prior to interview. Population figures have been rounded to the nearest 10,000.
	
		
			   2005-06  2006-07 
			  Priority group  Percentage  Thousand  Percentage  Thousand 
			 Black and minority ethnic 50.7 1,980 48.3 1,900 
			 Limiting disability 59.5 5,090 60.2 5,110 
			 Lower socio-economic 57.1 9,000 57.3 9,140 
			 All adults 69.9 27,730 69.3 27,640 
		
	
	All data are taken from the DCMS 'Taking Part' survey, which provides national data on engagement in culture, leisure and sport by adults aged 16 and over.

Cultural Heritage: Young People

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to his Department's press release of 13 February 2008 entitled young people to get five hours of culture a week—£135m funding boost announced, how he plans to measure the number of hours of arts and culture a week children receive in the pilot areas; and what estimate he has made of the number they currently receive.

Andy Burnham: The Find Your Talent pilot programme will test different ways of delivering a range of cultural opportunities over the next three years, including ways of ensuring all children are able to experience at least five hours.
	The pilots will build on the considerable amount of cultural activity already taking place in and out of school and the investment we put into this area. They will also be asked to audit current level of provision and the take up of cultural activities by children and young people. What we learn from them will give us the information we need to make decisions about implementing the scheme nationally.
	Although I am unable to give figures for how many hours young people currently receive, the 'Taking Part' survey showed that overall 99 per cent. said they had engaged in cultural sector at least once during the last 12 months. Within this, 61 per cent. of young people said they had engaged in cultural activities at least once a week during the last 12 months, and a further 21 per cent. said at least once a month.
	The numbers quoted here relate to the percentage of 11 to 15-year-olds living in private households in England, both in and out school. The interviews were conducted between January and December 2006.

Departmental Domestic Visits

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what visits he made to  (a) Harrogate International Centre,  (b) International Conference Centre, Birmingham,  (c) Manchester Central,  (d) Scottish Exhibitional and Conference Centre, Glasgow,  (e) Edinburgh International Conference Centre,  (f) Bournemouth International Conference Centre,  (g) the Brighton Centre, Brighton,  (h) the Riviera Centre, Torquay,  (i) Queen Elizabeth Centre, London,  (j) Excel Conference Centre, Docklands, London, and  (k) Business Design Centre, Islington, London, in the period 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2007; and what events he attended at each.

Andy Burnham: I have not visited any of the listed venues in a ministerial capacity since my appointment.
	My ministerial predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Stalybridge and Hyde (James Purnell) visited Manchester Central on 6 and 7 July 2007 to attend the Manchester International Festival and on 19 October 2007 to speak at the Supporters Direct Annual Conference. He also visited the ExCel Conference Centre on 5 August 2007 for the London Triathlon.
	My right hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Tessa Jowell) when Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport visited the Business Design Centre on 25 January 2005 to speak at a NESTA Conference, the Queen Elizabeth Centre on 5 March 2005 to speak at the Capital Woman 2005 Conference and on 16 March 2005 to speak at the Tourism UK 2005 Conference. On 27 and 28 August 2005, she attended the Edinburgh International Conference Centre for the Edinburgh TV Festival. She also visited the International Conference Centre, Birmingham on 8 November 2005 and spoke at the EU Gender Equality Conference. On 23 November 2005, she spoke at the Thames Gateway Conference at the Excel Conference Centre.
	During 2006, on 23 October she spoke at the Museum Association Conference at the Bournemouth International Conference Centre and on 23 November at the Thames Gateway Forum at the Excel Conference Centre.
	On 18 June 2007, she spoke at the Emergency Planning Society Annual Conference at the Riviera Centre, Torquay and on 25 June 2007 at the International Conference Centre, Birmingham with regional stakeholders about the 2012 Olympics.

Digital Broadcasting: North East

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress has been made on preparations for digital television switchover in the North East region.

Andy Burnham: Digital UK is the body charged with communicating with the public and co-ordinating the technical works to upgrade the terrestrial television network to digital. Digital UK operates both national and regional information campaigns. A communications campaign dedicated to the Tyne Tees region, as well as work to upgrade the television transmitters serving the Tyne Tees region, will commence in 2010 to enable the switch to digital to be completed in 2012.

S4C

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of trends in figures for S4C.

Andy Burnham: Given S4C's independence, it is not necessary for my Department to monitor S4Cs viewing figures closely or make assessments of this kind.
	In the first two months of this year, 32 S4C programmes each attracted over 100,000 viewers. Weekly viewing figures for the most popular programmes on S4C are shown on the S4C website:
	<http://www.s4c.co.uk/>.

Sports

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many visits were organised as part of the Sporting Champions Mentoring programme in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08.

Gerry Sutcliffe: There were 509 Sporting Champions visits between April 2006 and March 2007, and 513 visits between April 2007 and March 2008.

Sports: Expenditure

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department has spent on the  (a) Sporting and  (b) Cultural Champions initiatives since each was established.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Sport England's current available records indicate that they have allocated the following amounts to the Sporting Champions programme since 2001-02.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2001-02 297,737 
			 2002-03 338,714 
			 2003-04 329,737 
			 2004-05 336,026 
			 2005-06 300,000 
			 2006-07 300,000 
			 2007-08 300,000 
		
	
	DCMS does not fund a "Cultural Champions" programme but we do fund a mentoring programme, which use mentors from sport, music and the media to help young people that are at risk of social exclusion engage with positive activities and make positive life choices. DCMS has allocated £1 million per year to this programme since it was established in 2006-07.

Sports: Per Capita Costs

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 19 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 1157-8W, on sports: per capita costs, if he will provide the figures in 2007-08 prices.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Using information from the Office for National Statistics website the estimated Population of England in each of the last three years is shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Population England  Millions 
			 Mid 2005 50.432 
			 Mid 2006 50.763 
			 Mid 2007 51.017 
		
	
	Based on the above information and Treasury GDP Deflators at Market Prices and Money GDP - Revalorised to baseline 2007-08, the following tables show spend on sport per capita in England for the last three years at 2007-08 prices from:
	
		
			  (a) Public Funding 
			   
			   Spend per capita (£) 
			 2005-06 5.78 
			 2006-07 7.72 
			 2007-08 7.96 
		
	
	It should be noted that the Exchequer figures (above) include funding from Department for Children Schools and Families and the Capital Modernisation Fund for School Sport and Space for Sports and Arts respectively.
	
		
			  ( b) Lottery 
			   Spend per capita (£) 
			 2005-06 8.82 
			 2006-07 6.99 
			 2007-08 4.16

Tourism

John Whittingdale: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which recommendations of the Allnutt Review of Tourism Statistics have been implemented; which recommendations remain to be implemented; which recommendations he does not plan to implement; and if he will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The Allnutt Review of Tourism Statistics, published in June 2004, made 14 major recommendations. The implementation of these has necessarily been framed against available resources, the evolution of needs and taking advantage of opportunities that have arisen.
	A main recommendation of the review was to establish and resource an effective organisation to develop and maintain tourism statistics of appropriate quality. This 'Tourism Statistics Unit' was recommended to most appropriately be located in the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The recent formation of the English Tourism Intelligence Partnership (ETIP) has led to significant progress being made against this recommendation and planning is under way for the unit to be established, in the ONS, this summer. The work plan for a new 'Tourism Intelligence Unit' (TIU) is being drawn up, and will include fully reviewing the recommendations and preparing costed proposals for future development and implementation.
	A brief summary of progress against each of the other recommendations is provided as follows:
	 Recommendation 1: UK Tourism Survey (UKTS) and Leisure Day Visits Survey (LDVS) should be subject to a major redesign
	The UKTS was redesigned and recommissioned in 2005 to address serious concerns about the erosion of data quality. The LDVS was most recently conducted by Natural England in 2005 (England only). The ONS has identified a cost-benefit analysis of the possible future inclusion of these two surveys within the ONS' new Integrated Household Survey as part of their provisional work plan for the TIU.
	 Recommendation 2: Some interim improvements should be made to the LDVS
	Improvements were made to the methodology for the 2005 England Day Visits Survey. VisitBritain have been exploring possible options for a more regular, consistent, day visits survey.
	 Recommendation 3: The International Passenger Survey (IPS) should be improved as a source of tourism statistics
	A recent change to the survey methodology has extended the weighting of the survey results to a regional basis, but other significant improvements—such as the regular inclusion of a detailed expenditure trailer—would require major financial investment. However, the IPS in its current format continues to provide credible and reliable data on inbound and outbound tourism.
	 Recommendation 4: The registers of accommodation and other tourism businesses should be improved
	The provisional work plan for the TIU includes development and publication of a better statistical picture of the 'supply side' tourism data—drawing on ONS business data.
	In 2007, VisitBritain commissioned a project aiming to measure the level of serviced and non-serviced accommodation stock across England, by region, using their own extensive database of accommodation data from regional partners and commercial organisations.
	 Recommendation 5: The UK Occupancy Survey (UKOS) should be improved to cover all types of commercial accommodation and provide viable statistics of occupancy and visitor nights
	The methodology for the England part of the occupancy survey was changed in 2007, with a switch to an online-only approach to speed up reporting and improve response rates. The survey still covers serviced accommodation only.
	 Recommendation 6: The Survey of Visits to Visitor Attractions (SVVA) should be amended to focus more on the quality and completeness of its statistics of visitor numbers
	The National Tourism Organisations continue to each conduct a separate annual Survey of Visits to Visitor Attractions. In addition, VisitBritain has addressed the call for timelier visitor data by launching the quarterly England Attractions Monitor in 2006.
	 Recommendation 7: Regional input-output tables of the best possible quality, and supplementary statistics from relevant businesses, should be produced as key input to the proposed development of Tourism Satellite Accounts
	A pilot UK Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) was published in 2004, with a follow-up pilot TSA for the English regions published in 2005. Proposals for future development of TSA work will be scoped and costed by the TIU.
	 Recommendation 8: Panel surveys should be developed to provide timely short-term indicators of trends for a range of relevant indicators
	VisitBritain launched a 'Domestic Industry Panel' in 2006 to help identify reasons behind the trends seen in the quantitative surveys. It is conducted three times a year and involves interviews with senior people in leading tourism businesses.
	The England Attractions Monitor, launched by VisitBritain in 2006, is a quarterly panel of 500 visitor attractions across England.
	A 'Trip Tracker' survey is also run by VisitBritain in advance of major holiday periods—Easter, Christmas and the August bank holiday—in order to monitor short-term trends. However, the survey is a random telephone survey rather than a panel survey.
	 Recommendation 9: Methods for producing local tourism statistics should be developed and piloted
	The proposal for improved production of local area tourism statistics will be reviewed by the TIU.
	 Recommendation 10: Arrangements should be established for tourism interests to influence the development of employment and related statistics
	The provisional work plan for the TIU includes the development and publication of a better statistical picture of the 'supply side' tourism data, drawing on ONS business data—this will include undertaking basic statistical analyses of employment and other economic data.
	 Recommendation 11: The dissemination of tourism statistics, and information about the basis and quality of those statistics, should be improved
	VisitBritain have greatly improved the communication of research and market intelligence to the industry. They produce rich 'Market Profiles', quarterly round-ups of research and intelligence and have revamped their research web pages (to replace the Star UK website).
	The provisional work plan for the TIU includes development of a series of guidance notes that will outline the basis and quality of all key tourism statistics.
	 Recommendation 12: Various steps should be taken to improve the quality of statistics of Business Tourism
	No significant progress—in line with review's recommendation to see as low priority.
	 Recommendation 13: The review also makes a number of other, relatively minor, recommendations
	No significant progress—also low priority.

WALES

Brofiscin Quarry: Hazardous Substances

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales pursuant to his answer of 17 March 2008,  Official Report, column 819W, on Brofiscin Quarry: hazardous substances, what the timetable was of action taken by the Environment Agency following the receipt of information relating to cattle mortality and deformed cattle foetuses in the vicinity of Brofiscin Quarry.

Paul Murphy: I am informed by the Environment Agency Wales that the information relating to cattle mortality and deformed cattle foetuses reported in the vicinity of the Brofiscin Quarry was received by the Environment Agency in the course of its investigations under Part 2A Environmental Protection Act 1990. The cattle mortality investigation took place in the 1960s, was not conducted by the Environment Agency but the information was reviewed and found not to be related to pollutant linkages included in the Record of Determination produced by the local authority.
	Any information was passed to the local authority who retain responsibility for investigating other potential pollutant linkages, including livestock.
	In accordance with Part 2A Environmental Protection Act 1990 and statutory guidance, regulatory authorities are not authorised to carry out any action that is not referable to a significant pollutant linkage.

Departmental Publications

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what guidance is issued to members of his Department on the authorship and publication on the internet of material relating to their official duties; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Murphy: All officials are instructed to liaise with members of the Wales Office Communications Team over items to be uploaded to the Wales Office websites. All officials are also contractually bound to follow Ministry of Justice guidelines on internet usage.

Local Transport Bill (Draft)

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will place in the Library copies of communications and correspondence between the Wales Office and the Welsh Assembly Government relating to the Local Transport Bill.

Paul Murphy: holding answer 31 March 2008
	Identifying copies of all communications and correspondence between the Wales Office and the Welsh Assembly Government relating to the Local Transport Bill, and placing it in the Library, would incur disproportionate costs. However, on the Bill's introduction we placed an Explanatory Memorandum on the Framework Power—agreed between the Wales Office and the Welsh Assembly Government—in the Libraries of both Houses.

Local Transport Bill (Draft)

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what role his Department played in the inclusion of clauses 115 and 116 in the Local Transport Bill.

Paul Murphy: holding answer 31 March 2008
	The Secretary of State for Wales is responsible for Welsh provisions in the UK Government's legislative programme. As a result my Department is involved in discussions between the Welsh Assembly Government and UK Government sponsor Department at all stages in legislation relating to Wales. The Local Transport Bill is no exception.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Carbon Emission

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2544W, on carbon emissions, whether the amount of carbon dioxide offset referred to in the answer was of equivalent tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Phil Hope: Yes, the amount of carbon dioxide offset referred to in the answer of 5 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2544W, was of equivalent tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Departmental Publications

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when the February 2008 edition of the White Book of the Central Office of Information will be placed in the Library.

Tom Watson: The latest edition of the White Book was delivered to the Library on 27 March 2008.

Ministers: Redundancy Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 
	(1)  which former Ministers have been awarded severance pay since 28 June 2007;
	(2)  how much was paid in severance pay to Ministers leaving the Government in each year since 1997.

Tom Watson: The Ministerial and Other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991 sets out the circumstances in which severance is paid to certain office holders. Information on Ministers who have left office is a matter of public record.

Post Offices: Closures

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment the Social Exclusion Task Force has made of the effects on social inclusion of post office closures.

Phil Hope: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for North-East Milton Keynes (Mr. Lancaster) and the right hon. Member for Wells (Mr. Heathcoat-Amory) on 19 March 2008,  Official Report, column 909.

Rackspace

Greg Hands: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 
	(1)  what the value was of each contract awarded to Rackspace by  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies in each of the last nine years;
	(2)  what the value was of each contract awarded to Rackspace by the Office of the Leader of the House in each of the last nine years.

Tom Watson: The information requested for the Cabinet Office is not readily available and may not be obtained without incurring disproportionate costs.

Smith Institute

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the status is of the Charity Commission's investigation into the Smith Institute; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: This is a matter for the Charity Commission as the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales. The Commission has told me that it cannot, at this stage, provide a precise timeline for the completion of its inquiry, but that it is currently expected to be concluded by early summer. The Commission will, as is its normal practice, publish a report of its findings after the inquiry is completed, setting out any wider lessons for the charity sector.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Basic Needs Safety Valve Fund

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when he expects to announce the result of the recent applications for the basic needs safety valve fund for  (a) Milton Keynes and  (b) other authorities.

Jim Knight: I would hope to announce the result of the recent applications for the basic need safety valve for  (a) Milton Keynes and  (b) other authorities by close on 4 April 2008. Achievement of this target will depend upon further correspondence with local authorities, and their replies, regarding financial details entered on their application forms. If queries cannot be resolved by close on 4 April 2008, it may be necessary to announce allocations individually.

Building Schools for the Future Programme: Finance

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how much funding has been allocated to Building Schools for the Future projects in each local authority;
	(2)  how much funding has been allocated under the Building Schools for the Future programme, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Jim Knight: Table 1 as follows details the funding which Partnerships for Schools plans to allocate to Building Schools for the Future projects in waves 1, 2 and 3. Funding is provided to local authorities as an 'envelope' to allow local allocation of resources to individual schools in accordance with local priorities. As projects develop, the funding allocations are updated, so it is likely that the final allocations will change. Funding levels have not yet been confirmed for live projects in wave 4 and beyond. However, table 2 shows current indicative allocations, which are subject to change, for each wave 4 authority.
	
		
			  Table 1: Local authority wave 1 to 3 projects 
			Estimated funding allocation for whole wave (£ million) 
			  Local authority  Parliamentary constituency  PFI credits  non-PFI 
			 Bradford Shipley 310 19 
			  Bradford South   
			  Keighley   
			  Bradford North   
			  Bradford West   
			 
			 Bristol Bristol East 157 7 
			  Bristol South   
			 
			 Greenwich Greenwich and Woolwich 183 57 
			  Eltham   
			  Erith and Thamesmead   
			 
			 Lewisham Lewisham West 230 86 
			  Lewisham East   
			 
			 Sheffield Sheffield Heeley 89 77 
			  Sheffield Hallam   
			  Sheffield Brightside   
			  Sheffield Central   
			 
			 Knowsley Knowsley North and Sefton East 250 3 
			  Knowsley South   
			 
			 Lancashire Burnley 254 48 
			  Pendle   
			 
			 Leeds Leeds North East 186 150 
			  Leeds Central   
			  Pudsey   
			  Leeds West   
			  Leeds East   
			  Morley and Rothwell   
			 
			 Leicester Leicester West 151 165 
			  Leicester East   
			  Leicester South   
			 
			 Manchester Manchester Blackley 0 183 
			  Manchester Withington   
			  Manchester Gorton   
			  Wythenshawe and Sale East   
			  Congleton   
			 
			 Newcastle Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend 152 119 
			  Newcastle upon Tyne North   
			  Newcastle upon Tyne Central   
			  Tyne Bridge   
			 
			 Newham West Ham 65 95 
			  East Ham   
			  Poplar and Canning Town   
			 
			 South Tyneside and Gateshead South Shields 64 137 
			  Jarrow   
			  Gateshead East and Washington West   
			 
			 Solihull Meriden 87 29 
			 
			 Sunderland Houghton and Washington East 0 119 
			  Gateshead East and Washington West   
			  Sunderland North   
			  Sunderland South   
			 
			 Waltham Forest Walthamstow 54 62 
			 
			 Birmingham Birmingham Ladywood 92 98 
			  Birmingham Perry Barr   
			  Birmingham Erdington   
			  Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath   
			  Birmingham Edgbaston   
			  Birmingham Hodge Hill   
			 
			 Hackney Hackney South and Shoreditch 0 152 
			  Hackney North and Stoke Newington   
			 
			 Haringey Hornsey and Wood Green 0 176 
			  Tottenham   
			 
			 Islington Islington North 111 83 
			  Islington South and Finsbury   
			 
			 Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull East 119 285 
			  Kingston upon Hull North   
			  Haltemprice and Howden   
			  Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle   
			 
			 Lambeth Dulwich and West Norwood 0 87 
			  Vauxhall   
			 
			 Liverpool Liverpool West Derby 0 167 
			  Liverpool Wavertree   
			  Liverpool Garston   
			  Liverpool Walton   
			 
			 Middlesbrough Middlesbrough 0 108 
			  Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland   
			 
			 Nottingham Nottingham South 67 126 
			  Nottingham North   
			  Nottingham East   
			 
			 Tower Hamlets Poplar and Canning Town 0 89 
			  Bethnal Green and Bow   
			 
			 Barnsley Barnsley Central 324 28 
			  Barnsley East and Mexborough   
			  Barnsley West and Penistone   
			 
			 Derbyshire Bolsover 65 60 
			  Chesterfield   
			  North East Derbyshire   
			 
			 Durham Easington 79 75 
			  North West Durham   
			  Sedgefield   
			  City of Durham   
			 
			 Kent Canterbury 99 179 
			  South Thanet   
			  North Thanet   
			  Gravesham   
			 
			 Luton Luton North 34 104 
			  Luton South   
			 
			 North Lincolnshire Scunthorpe 0 89 
			 
			 Salford Salford 134 65 
			  Eccles   
			  Worsley   
			 
			 Sandwell West Bromwich West 60 137 
			  Warley   
			 
			 Southwark Camberwell and Peckham 83 145 
			  North Southwark and Bermondsey   
			 
			 Tameside Denton and Reddish 128 82 
			  Stalybridge and Hyde   
			  Ashton under Lyne   
			 
			 Westminster Cities of London and Westminster 0 153 
			  Regent's Park and North Kensington   
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Local authority wave 4 projects, indicative funding allocations 
			   £ million 
			 Barking and Dagenham 274 
			 Blackburn 122 
			 Bristol 101 
			 Cambridgeshire 110 
			 Coventry 137 
			 Essex 126 
			 Hertfordshire 153 
			 Kent 143 
			 Manchester 102 
			 Oldham 195 
			 Rochdale 171 
			 Sheffield 222 
			 Somerset 87 
			 Telford and Wrekin 149

Children

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many copies of the Children's Plan Toolkit his Department has had printed; and what the cost of design, printing and distribution has been.

Beverley Hughes: 1,550 packs have been produced. The total cost was £30,534, which included the design, production and distribution of the packs.

Children: Reading

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what measures his Department has introduced to support pupils with dyslexia-type reading difficulties in the last five years;
	(2)  what measures his Department has introduced to enable parents of children with dyslexia-type reading difficulties to provide support for their child in the last five years.

Kevin Brennan: All local authorities, schools, and early years settings must haves regard to the special educational needs code of practice which provides advice on carrying out statutory duties to identify, assess and make provision for pupils' special educational needs. Children with dyslexia should have their needs identified and support put in place in the same way as children with any other type of special educational need (SEN).
	To help those working in schools with identifying and supporting children with dyslexia, last October we launched the Inclusion Development Programme, which will offer professional development in key areas of SEN starting with training on communication difficulties, including dyslexia. The Inclusion Development Programme materials are being developed in close consultation with dyslexia organisations.
	This builds on earlier support to schools which has included: funding the British Dyslexia Association's schools resource pack 'Achieving Dyslexia Friendly Schools'; working with the British Dyslexia Association to produce and disseminate a poster to primary schools on identifying children with dyslexia; and funding the National Strategies production of a DVD 'Learning and teaching for dyslexic children'.
	To identify and disseminate best practice in improving outcomes for children with dyslexia, we are working with a number of dyslexia organisations on the "No to Failure" project. This is supporting schools in three local authority areas to be "trailblazers", where children are being screened for dyslexia and specialist tuition is provided to those identified with dyslexia. The impact on outcomes is being evaluated. The project is also raising awareness of dyslexia as a learning difficulty. We are providing up to £900,000 funding over three years.
	As set out in the Children's Plan (cm 7280), we will develop a pilot which will evaluate the impact of additional intensive reading tuition for children identified as needing this through the 'Every Child a Reader' programme. If specialist provision demonstrates significant impact, we will look at how assessment and specialist dyslexia support could be rolled out nationwide as best practice.
	Through the Education Act 1996, local authorities are required to arrange for the parent of any child with SEN in their area to be provided with advice and information about matters relating to those needs. We are providing £64,000 this financial year, and £86,000 next financial year to enable the British Dyslexia Association to enhance their helpline's provision of information and advice for teachers and parents on best practice in identifying and supporting children with dyslexia.

Departmental Pilot Schemes

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what pilot initiatives his Department has launched since 1997; what the cost has been of each initiative; whether each initiative has been rolled out nationally; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: I believe that pilot initiatives are a valuable way to test and develop policy options and their likely impact prior to implementation. They allow us to work in close partnership with local leaders and key partners to understand how policies will work in practice. This understanding from early testing and implementation is key to our decision-making on national roll-out. Due to the prohibitive cost involved in trawling a 10-year period I am unable to supply the details of all the individual schemes that my Department has sponsored for the period requested; but I am happy to attach the most recent information we have for 2007 as an illustration of the range and cost of our test activity. Although too early for full, formal evaluations of these schemes, I can give assurance that all initiatives are closely monitored and the learning fed back into policy design and operational implementation on an ongoing basis.
	We have recently improved our internal processes for planning and coordinating our pilot schemes to ensure we maximise the learning and cost savings from this activity in a more systematic way while minimising burdens on front line delivery. We are also working hard to ensure that local authorities and regional government office colleagues are closely involved in the selection of pilots, and that there is strategic coherence in the breadth and range of such activities.
	
		
			  Pilot initiative  Summary  Timescale  Budget 
			 Family Nurse Partnership DCSF funded thereafter transferring to DoH. Focussing on first-time mothers under the age of 24. The project is testing a US model of early intervention which involves a structured programme of home visits by trained nurses. 1 April 2007 - 31 March 2008 in DCSF, thereafter with DH £6 million in 2007/08 
			 Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care An intervention targeting young people who are already displaying severe levels of challenging anti-social behaviour and for whom more conventional approaches do not offer an effective solution. December 2006 - 2008/2011 £3 million in 2007/08 
			 Budget-holding Lead Professionals for children in care A budget-holding lead professional commissions services for a child in care using a dedicated budget. Four local authorities are taking part. July 2007 - July 2009 £200,000 in 2007/08 
			 Budget Holding Lead Professional Pilots A budget-holding lead professional co-ordinates provision when a range of services are needed for a child, and who has access to and leverage over a budget, allowing them to commission services directly from providers June 2006 - March 2008 £5million over the life of the pilot project 
			 Drug and Alcohol Courts Pilot A multi-agency early intervention via the justice system that aims to prevent children coming into care by tackling their parents' substance abuse. September 2007 - September 2010 £50,000 -2007/08 
			 Sustainable Communities Market Renewal pathfinders The pilot aim is business involvement in education in deprived communities improving outcomes for young people and helping them to contribute to the local economy. 2005 - 2010 not available at time 
			 Parenting Early Intervention Aims to test out 3 parenting programmes for families with 8-13 year olds at risk of anti-social behaviour. from October 2006 - March 2008 £5 million over life of pilot 
			 Regional Commissioning Units Pilots The Government is committed to secure better value for money and give more placement choice to children in care by piloting regional commissioning units with interested local authorities. from October 2007 - March 2008 2007/08 - £873,000 
			 Parent Support Advisers A preventative school- based role to support parents, concentrating on behaviour and attendance, parental engagement with schools and reducing barriers to learning. from September 2006 - end summer 2008 £20 million -2007/08 
			 Family Intervention Projects Uses intensive tailored action with supervision and clear sanctions to improve the behaviour of persistently anti-social households Ends March 2008 *not available at time 
			 Virtual Headteacher and Private Tutoring Pilots These pilots are about testing how a senior individual working at local authority level can drive up standards of education for children in care, wherever they go to school as though they attended a single 'virtual' school. September 2007 - July 2011 2007/09 - £792,000 
			 Right2B Cared4 The Right2B Cared4 pilot will give young people a veto over any decisions about legally leaving care before they turn 18. The pilots will offer young people the opportunity to have a significant degree of control over the timing of transition; and in planning placement moves and identifying the services needed for their future support and care. September 2007 - September 2011 £2 million - 2007/08 
			 Free Entitlement for 3 and 4 Year- Olds Pathfinders 15 hours a week free early education for all 3 and 4 year olds for 38 weeks a year. Phased roll out between 2008/11. Wave 1 commenced April 2007. Wave 2 commences September 2008 £80 million — 2007/08 
			 Free Entitlement for 2 Year Olds Pilots Free early years provision to 12,000 disadvantaged two year olds, not already accessing provision who would most benefit from early access, and particularly those identified as less likely to access free entitlement at age 3. April 2006 - March 2009 £20 million over 2 Years (2006-07) 
			 Increasing Take up of formal childcare in BME Communities The project is about shaping delivery to extend the reach of good quality childcare and early years' provision among Black and Minority Ethnic Families (BME) — with increased take up as a result. September 2007 - March 2008 £265,000 - 2007/08 
			 Multi-systemic Therapy Pilot Multi Systemic Therapy (MST) is a family and community-based treatment programme for young people with complex clinical, social, and educational problems such as violent behaviour, drug abuse and school expulsion. MST therapists work in close partnership with the young person's family and community to strengthen protective factors known to reduce the risk of future offending and anti-social behaviour. From September 2007- March 2011 £3 million - 2007/08 
			 Every Child a Reader Every Child a Reader is a unique collaboration between charitable trusts, the business sector and government. It aims to show that with the right resources, it is possible to overcome the literacy difficulties that blight so many children's lives. 2005/06 to end 2008/09 £5.2 million - 2007/08 
			 Primary Specialism Pilot A small project trialling the specialist programme in a small number of primary schools. 2007-2010 £10 million over life of the project 
			 Trust School Pathfinders Pathfinder schools working towards acquiring Trust School status From September 2006 - September 2008 up to £15,000 per school 
			 Low Attainers Pilots Addresses the challenges that are faced by schools in which a very substantial proportion of the cohort enter at level 3 and struggle to access the secondary curriculum because their core skills in literacy, numeracy and learning are weak. Sept 2004 - July 2008 *not available at time 
			 Making Progress Pilots The pilot is designed to improve the rate of progress which children make year by year, as well as between key stages. September 2007 - July 2009 £8 million - 07-08 
			 LA Strategic Commissioning of School Planning Working with 17 local authorities to investigate what their new strategic commissioning of school places role would mean in practice, identify good practice and disseminate this to others. November 2006 to March 2008 £2.3 million 
			 Early Learning Partnerships The Project is targeting parents of children aged 12 months to 3 years who are at risk of learning delay. Parents will be supported to become involved in their child's early learning, through effective partnerships with practitioners, using home visiting where necessary. 2006-08 £6.83 million (2006/07 and 2007/08) 
			 Boarding School Provision Vulnerable Children Pathfinders Testing the effectiveness of a boarding placement as an additional option for local authorities to improve social and educational outcomes for vulnerable children. November 2006 to March 2008 £393k over the life of the project. 
			 Transition Information Sessions Sessions for parents of new intake of pupils into a school *not available at time £3 million 2007/08 
			 Key Stage 4 Engagement Programme Alternative work-focused learning for low-achieving Key Stage 4 pupils disengaged with the mainstream curriculum. Pilots act as test-beds for developing good practice provision which will be widely disseminated. 2007/08 *not available at time 
			 Formalised Peer Mentoring in Secondary Schools 2 year pilot being run in 180 schools engaging 3,600 pupils in matched mentoring pairs. By working together it is hoped that the result will be improved outcomes across a range of areas such as attendance, behaviour, academic performance and reducing bullying. April 2006 - March 2008 £1.5 million total 
			 Functional Skills Qualification Pilot To ensure that young people achieve a firm grounding in the basic functional skills of English, Mathematics and ICT which are needed for participation in life, learning and work. From Sept 07 - 2 year pilot for GCSE candidates in English and ICT and a 3 year pilot for GCSE candidates in Mathematics. September 2007 to September 2010 £661,000 - 2007/08 
			 Learning Agreements 16-17 year olds in employment without level 2 to engage in education and training Ends March 2008 (but may be extended) £30million 2007/08 
			 Activity Agreements & Allowances To incentivise young people who have not been in education, employment or training (NEET) long term to take the first steps back to engagement in learning. Ends March 2008 (but may be extended) £45 million 2007/08 
			 Study Plus Pilots Aims to promote more effective use of the existing intervention toolkit by improving the management of intervention and by helping teachers to tailor their teaching more closely to the needs of particular groups and individuals at Key Stage 4. Ends 2008 £426,000 in 2007/08

Departmental Travel

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department and its agencies spent on first class travel in the last 12 months for which figures are available, broken down by staff grade.

Kevin Brennan: The spend for the Department for Children, Schools and Families and its agencies on first class travel for the period 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007 for rail travel is £6,297,690 and for air £29,641.

Education Maintenance Allowance

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2008,  Official Report, column 141W, on the education maintenance allowance, if he will investigate whether households are shrinking their incomes in order to claim education maintenance allowances.

Jim Knight: The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) has no evidence to suggest that any household has chosen to reduce their income in order that their children become eligible for education maintenance allowance (EMA). Where people have made choices which have reduced income, such as moving from full time to part time work, it seems unlikely that such choices would have been made solely on the basis that their child may, in the following financial year, be able to claim EMA for up to one year. Parents are entitled to make decisions about their lifestyle and career, and it is not for the administrators of the EMA scheme to challenge those personal choices.
	For EMA purposes, the majority of successful applicants have their household income assessed on the basis of a tax credit award notice (TCAN) awarded by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) or through a benefits check verified with the Department for Work and Pensions. Both Departments make detailed investigations to assess the evidence presented for establishing income for tax and benefit purposes. Our strategy for protecting the EMA scheme against potential abuse through the incomplete or false declaration of household income includes a data sharing protocol with both of those Departments. We currently investigate evidence we assess as high risk. We plan to strengthen this by building on our data sharing protocol to verify all EMA income assessments.

Schools: Construction

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what post-occupancy evaluation has been conducted on new schools built under Building Schools for the Future and the Academies Programmes;
	(2)  when the Partnership for Schools' review into the Building Schools for the Future procurement process will be completed and its report published.

Jim Knight: Schools in Building Schools for the Future (BSF) are required to complete a post occupancy evaluation as part of the design quality indicator for schools process. This was put in place for local authorities joining the programme as pathfinders and in the subsequent waves. Post occupancy evaluation typically takes place after the building has been through a cycle of one summer and one winter and so the first evaluations are expected to take place towards the end of 2008.
	The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment assessed the design quality of 12 completed academy buildings on behalf of the National Audit Office. The Commission used a tool based on the design quality indicator for schools, which in its full version will be used to measure the quality of all schools in BSF. Future academies, delivered through BSF will be subject to the requirements of that programme.
	The independent PwC evaluations of BSF and the academies programme will also look at building quality.
	Partnerships for Schools set out the preliminary findings from its Procurement Review in early February 2008. I expect to receive the final report and conclusions shortly.

Schools: Cycling

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools make provision for Bikeability training.

Rosie Winterton: I have been asked to reply.
	This information is not collected centrally.
	I announced on 17 March that we would be making funding available to local authorities to train nearly 80,000 schoolchildren to the Bikeability standard in 2008/09. This is in addition to the 46,000 children for whom we have already funded training via local authorities and School Sports Partnerships. We do not collect or hold data on the number of schools associated with these 126,000 children.
	These figures do not include Bikeability-standard training paid for directly by local authorities, schools or other organisations. Estimates are that local authorities fund some form of cycle training for around 200,000 children a year. We do not collect information on how many of these children are trained to the Bikeability standard. We do know that some of the local authorities who will receive funding in 2008/09 are paying for Bikeability standard training to 29,000 more children from their own resources, in addition to the 80,000 funded by the Government. Other local authorities provide Bikeability standard training as part of their normal programme without DFT grant. For example York city council provide training to around 2,500 children to different Bikeability levels, including 1,200 to Level 2.

Schools: Fire Prevention

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the combustibility of plastic foam composite panels used in the building of schools.

Jim Knight: holding answer 25 March 2008
	The Department commissioned the Fire and Safety Unit at the Building Research Establishment to write Building Bulletin 100, Fire safety design for schools. This was published in 2007. BB100 is quoted as the compliance document for schools in Approved Document B (Fire Safety) 2006 edition, in support of the building regulations.
	Appendix B of BB100: Fire behaviour of insulating core panels covers composite plastic foam insulated panels and gives design recommendations for their use in schools. This guidance is based on research that BRE carried out for the Home Office in 1996-97 on the fire hazards of this type of construction and the findings are valid for many building types, including schools.

Secondary Education: Curriculum

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what plans he has to encourage schools to collaborate in the delivery of the 14 to 19 curriculum; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: We offer a range of support to support stronger collaboration. We have a well-established and successful programme of Learning Visits sharing good practice on collaborating to deliver 14-19 reforms; 142 local authorities have attended at least one Learning Visit. Three of our strongest 14-19 areas have been awarded beacon council status, and are being used to disseminate good practice, including bespoke consultancy support to those areas that need more intensive support. We also share good practice via the departmental website and publications, including specific work on developing collaborative arrangements and planning 14-19 provision locally. In addition, we are looking to strengthen 14-19 partnerships by introducing legislation about local cooperation on 14-19 education in the Education and Skills Bill now before Parliament. The legislation provides the opportunity to signal the importance of collaboration between local partners.

Specialised Diplomas

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which schools will be offering a new diploma course in September 2008; what estimate he has made of the number of pupils who will be enrolling on such courses; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: In the early years of diploma delivery, we have made it our priority that all learners doing diplomas should have a good experience. To this end, we instituted a rigorous Gateway process, designed to ensure that only consortiums which were well placed to deliver from 2008 were allowed to do so. Only around 20 per cent. of applications were approved to teach diplomas in 2008 through this process, with 144 consortiums across the country involved in delivery.
	Since then, we have been supporting these consortiums in a range of ways, and training teachers to teach diplomas. At the time of making Gateway applications, the consortiums approved to deliver from 2008 estimated that around 39,000 young people could be taking diplomas, In a number of cases, we have encouraged consortiums to keep student numbers lower than their initial projections in the first year, as new arrangements are introduced, in order to ensure that the quality of the experience for young people is extremely high. Therefore, we would anticipate that learner numbers in these areas should be lower than initial consortiums' projections. However, young people are making choices at present for September and, particularly post-16, will continue to do so for some months. We are therefore unable to provide an accurate national figure for learner numbers in September at this point.
	Recent announcements of the results of the second Diploma Gateway show a significant increase in the quality of applications to deliver diplomas, leading to a substantial increase in the number of consortiums approved to deliver diplomas in 2009 against the same rigorous criteria. By September 2009, we anticipate that some 335 consortiums will be offering diplomas to around 100,000 young people.

Specialised Diplomas

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many  (a) academies,  (b) grammar schools and  (c) independent schools he estimates will offer the full range of diplomas from (i) September 2008 and (ii) September 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Applications for the first consortia were received in December 2006 when there were only 46 open academies. In March 2007, 18 academies were in consortia approved for the delivery of one or more of the five diplomas in the first phase, from September 2008.
	There are currently 83 academies open. 58 academies are partners in consortia that have been approved for the delivery of one or more of the 10 diplomas to be available from September 2009 (14 of which are also partners in the consortia approved for delivery of diplomas from September 2008).
	16 selective schools were partners in consortia approved for the delivery of one or more the first five diplomas from September 2008, and 81 have been approved for the delivery of diplomas from September 2009 (12 of these are also partners in consortia for delivery from September 2008).
	There were no independent schools in consortia approved for diploma delivery from September 2008. Two independent schools are partners in consortia approved for the 2009 start.
	These figures exclude any academies, selective schools and independent schools that might be among the additional partners that successful Gateway 1 consortia are yet to declare.
	At this relatively early stage, very few consortia have gained approval to deliver the full range of diplomas (i.e. all of the available lines of learning) and it is doubtful that any single school will at this stage be actively involved in teaching across the full range.

Truancy

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 6 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1142W, on truancy, how many pupils have had a recorded unauthorised half-day absence while in year  (a) nine,  (b) 10 and  (c) 11.

Kevin Brennan: The requested information is given in the table and relates to secondary schools only.
	Information for the academic year 2006/07 was published on 26 February 2008.
	
		
			  All secondary schools( 1) : absence in national curriculum year groups 9, 10 and 11: 2005/06, England 
			 Number of enrolments who missed at least one session due to( 2)  Percentage of enrolments who missed at least one session due to( 2, 3) 
			  National curriculum year group  Number of pupils of compulsory school age( 4)  Number of enrolments( 5)  Authorised absence  Unauthorised absence  Overall absence  Authorised absence  Unauthorised absence  Overall absence 
			 9 598,760 605,640 573,250 195,290 579,150 94.7 32.2 95.6 
			 10 601,220 606,090 572,490 232,410 579,890 94.5 38.3 95.7 
			 11 581,300 582,600 552,780 255,680 560,880 94.9 43.9 96.3 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. Includes city technology colleges and academies. (2 )One session relates to half a school day. (3 )The number of enrolments who had at least one session of absence expressed as a percentage of the total number of enrolments in same national curriculum year group. (4 )Pupil numbers are as at January 2006. Includes pupils aged five to 15 with sole and dual (main) registration. Excludes boarders. (5 )Number of pupil enrolments in schools between 1 September 2005 and 27 May 2006. Includes pupils on the school roll for at least one session who are aged between five and 15, excluding boarders. Some pupils may be counted more than once (if they moved schools during the year or are registered at more than one school).  Note:  Pupil numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source:  School Census

Vocational Education

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the returns to the economy of people gaining (a) level 1 and (b) level 2 vocational qualifications; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: I have been asked to reply.
	Historically, vocational qualifications at level 2 have been associated with improvement in earnings where those qualifications were obtained in the workplace rather than in college, and for people who have no or low qualifications rather than those who are already qualified to level 2 or better, for example through having good GCSEs. Thus the skills strategy has emphasised the acquisition of vocational qualifications in the workplace and has prioritised funding toward those with low or no previous qualifications. There is also clear evidence that higher level qualifications provide substantial benefits but that those with low or no qualification face barriers to learning; so the skills strategy has also aimed to get people up to at least level 2, from where they will both be incentivised to continue in learning because of the substantial average earnings gain to be had, and because the personal barriers to further learning are likely to be lessened.
	The latest evidence on the economic benefits for level 2 vocational qualifications was published in autumn last year(1). It changes this picture in that level 2 vocational qualifications give higher average earnings gain than previous studies have shown, and for a wider group of people. In many cases the gains seem to be better than the equivalent academic or general qualifications. Earnings improvements for young people up to the age of 25 who gained such qualifications experienced on average at least a 12 per cent. improvement in earnings, and for some qualifications much more. People with such qualifications also experienced substantial improvements in employment chances. The benefits continue to be larger for those with no or low prior qualifications than for those already qualified.(1)
	That report also provided for the first time detailed evidence on level 2 vocational qualifications gained as adults (over the age of 25). The earnings differential is slightly lower than when acquired by young people, but they are still substantial, on average at least an 11 per cent. improvement in earnings. The exception in that study was the National Vocational Qualification at level 2 (NVQ2), which was associated with a lower improvement in earnings when acquired by adults. There are thought to be two reasons. First, there is a data difficulty, in that there are a relatively large proportion of adults in this country without qualifications. Many will have skills at around level 2, so a simple comparison of those with and without such qualifications does not reveal the true improvement in earnings for an individual who increases their skill level through gaining such a qualification. A further research study that will report later this year is using a different, longitudinal, approach and will identify more clearly the scale of benefit from gaining qualifications. Second, in the early years after NVQs were introduced, they were used extensively in government programmes for the unemployed, and hence they are disproportionately held by adults who have lower employability. As time goes on, and NVQs are used by the workforce more generally, the benefits are expected to become more apparent.
	There is much less evidence on level 1 vocational qualifications. Recent evidence does show substantial positive improvements in employment chances for individuals who were low-achievers at school though(2).
	(1) Jenkins et al (2007): The Returns to Qualifications in England, Updating the Evidence Base on Level 2 and Level 3 Vocational Qualifications. CEE Discussion Paper no. 89.
	(2) The Impact of Vocational Qualifications on the Labour Market Outcomes of Low-Achieving School-Leavers, Steven McIntosh, CEP Discussion Paper No 621, March 2004

Vocational Guidance: Training

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department is taking to provide continuing professional development for school careers advisers.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 20 February 2008
	 The Children's Plan sets out our vision for a professional, graduate-led children's work force. This includes looking at ways to professionalise the careers work force in schools, enhancing the range of qualifications, and quality and accessibility of continuing professional development opportunities in careers education. We are building on current support, by developing a range of resources to support the careers work force in schools, including curriculum guidance on careers education and work-related learning; and high-quality classroom materials for teachers.

Wind Power

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families to which wind farm proposals his Department lodged objections in each of the last three years; and for what reasons in each case.

Kevin Brennan: No such objections have been lodged.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Local Government: East Anglia

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she next expects to meet representatives of local authorities in East Anglia to discuss unitary local government.

John Healey: Having been asked by us for advice, the Boundary Committee for England is currently considering unitary local government in Norfolk and Suffolk, and hence local authorities should now be speaking to, and meeting the Committee, which in fact they are doing. We thus have no plans to meet these authorities to discuss unitary local government.

Social Housing: Lancashire

David Borrow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the level of affordable social housing required in new housing developments in Lancashire to meet local needs.

Caroline Flint: The Government are aware of the shortages of affordable houses in many parts of the north-west, including Lancashire and South Ribble.
	Providing affordable housing to meet the needs of local areas is a Government priority.
	Local authorities are best placed to assess the specific need in their areas, and the Government has helped authorities in Lancashire to do this by funding an independent housing market assessment.

Council Tax

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the percentage change in cash terms has been in band D council tax in  (a) Forest of Dean,  (b) London and  (c) England between 1997-98 and 2008-09.

Hazel Blears: Between 1997-98 and 2008-09 the average Band D, two adult, council tax in the Forest of Dean district council area rose by 114 per cent.. This figure includes the precepts for Gloucestershire county council, Gloucestershire police authority and parish councils.
	The corresponding figure for London was 98 per cent. and for England the figure was 100 per cent.

Post Offices

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on the contribution of local post offices to community cohesion.

Parmjit Dhanda: My right Hon Friend and I hold regular discussions with counterparts from across Government about a wide range of issues relating to our ambition to build strong, prosperous and cohesive communities across England.

Home Information Packs

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many home information packs and home condition reports have been commissioned.

Iain Wright: The commercial and private nature of a home owner's decision when to place their property on the market for sale means this information is not available in a robust form. We therefore do not hold this information centrally in the format requested.

Regeneration

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps she has taken following the publication of the consultation paper on the review of sub-national development and regeneration.

John Healey: We published the Review of Sub-national Economic Development and Regeneration in July last year. We subsequently published an issues paper in December last year, updating stakeholders on progress on implementing the SNR. Yesterday we published a consultation document "Prosperous Places: Taking forward the Review of Sub-national Economic Development and Regeneration". The consultation asks for views on the implementation of new regional strategies and the creation of a new duty on local authorities to carry out an economic assessment of their area. It also consults on possible statutory arrangements for sub-regional collaboration among local authorities.

Regeneration

Stephen Ladyman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what progress has been made in implementing the initiatives on regeneration set out in the Unlocking the Talent of our Communities document; and if she will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: In the document I launched on the 5 March, I announced plans for a new White Paper focused on empowering citizens. The document also outlined our plans to develop a framework for regeneration, and the future of the Working Neighbourhoods Fund.
	We will be engaging with stakeholders over the coming months through regional events, expert panels, government offices, discussion forums and third sector organisations. The learning from these exercises will help shape the white paper and future regeneration policy. The empowerment white paper will be published in the summer.

Social Housing

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what her most recent estimate is of the size of the social housing stock.

Caroline Flint: The social rent stock (local authority and registered social landlord) was estimated at 3.9 million dwellings in England at March 2006.

Planning: Developer Contributions

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans she has to review local authority performance in securing developer contributions under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

Iain Wright: It is for local authorities to decide whether to seek planning obligations to ensure that planning permissions are compatible with planning policies. Authorities should monitor the collection and spending of developer contributions made in this way. The Department has commissioned research on the use of planning obligations and a copy is available in the Library of the House.

Eco-towns

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what methodology will be used for determining which eco-town bids go forward to consultation; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The criteria and assessment approach for the selection of eco-town sites are set out in the Eco-towns Prospectus.
	This was published last July as part of the Housing Green Paper.
	The criteria are tough and challenging and only those locations that meet these will be shortlisted for consultation.

Affordable Housing: Wirral, South

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to increase the amount of affordable housing in Wirral, South.

Caroline Flint: Further to the response given by the Secretary of State in October of last year I can confirm we are continuing with our commitment to affordable housing providing £8 billion up to 2011.
	Furthermore, the Housing Corporation has announced allocations for the new Affordable Housing Programme for 2008-11 which will contribute towards our Housing Green Paper target of providing 70,000 new affordable homes per annum by 2010-11 of which 45,000 homes will be for social rent.
	Following their invite to local providers to bid for affordable homes investment the Housing Corporation have recently announced that £11 million has been approved for 229 homes for the period 2008-11 in Wirral local authority.

Flood Damage

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what progress has been made in reopening local authority buildings damaged by the floods in 2007; and if she will make a statement.

John Healey: Information regarding the reopening of local authority buildings damaged by the floods in 2007 is not held centrally by the Department and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	We do however have some central information on schools. A total of 858 schools were damaged in last summer's floods. All of these have now reopened, and local authorities have advised the Department for Children, Schools and Families of only eight still using temporary classrooms because of flood damage.

Rough Sleepers

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what methodology her Department uses to estimate levels of rough sleeping; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: The methodology is set out in the Department's guidance on evaluating the extent of rough sleeping which has been developed in conjunction with the voluntary sector. An estimate of the number of rough sleepers in England is published each September based on the results of local authority street counts. The methodology has been consistently applied over the last 10 years.

Greater London Authority

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will consider the merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to revise the governance arrangements of the Greater London Authority; and if she will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: The governance arrangements for the Greater London Authority were reviewed as part of the Government's review of the authority's powers in 2006, and several legislative changes were subsequently made to its governance framework by the Greater London Authority Act 2007.

Council Tax: Armed Forces

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what liability members of the armed forces, in a single person household which does not have a Ministry of Defence accommodation exemption, have to pay council tax when on active duty overseas.

John Healey: The amount that a person is liable to pay in council tax for a financial year is primarily a matter for the relevant billing authority. This amount will be specified in a council tax demand notice issued by the relevant billing authority for the year. However, a single person discount of 25 per cent. is available to those people who live alone.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence announced on 28 January 2008 that all service personnel on designated operations overseas will receive a lump sum payment based on the number of days in theatre and worth £140 over a six-month tour to help with the cost of their council tax. This is equivalent to 25 per cent. of the average council tax bill in England for 2007-08.

Departmental Pay

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when the last equal pay review was completed, in line with the Equality Opportunities Commission guidance, for  (a) her Department's headquarters,  (b) each of its executive agencies and  (c) her Department's Government offices; when those equal pay reviews were made available to the recognised trades unions of each of her Department's bargaining units; and if she will place in the Library each of those reviews.

Parmjit Dhanda: holding answer 13 March 2008
	The information requested is as follows:
	 DCLG (HQ)
	The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) was created on 5 May 2006, inheriting functions and employees, under Machinery of Government changes, previously the responsibility of the Office of Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), the Home Office (Communities Group) and the DTI (Women and Responsibilities Unit). The last equal pay review completed was the ODPM 2003 Equal Pay Review. This was made available to the trade unions in April 2003. The 2006-07 Equal Pay Review is due to be completed by June 2008.
	 Government offices
	The last equal pay review for Government offices was carried out in June 2007 and sent to the unions in July 2007. This has been deposited in the Library of the House.
	 The Planning Inspectorate
	PINS' recognised trade unions, PCS and Prospect, participated fully in the Equal Pay Review and the final report was made available to them when it was completed in September 2007 and has been deposited in the Library of the House.
	 The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre
	No full equal pay review has been completed for the QEII Conference Centre.
	 Fire Service College
	The Fire Service College undertook an equal pay review in line with Cabinet Office requirements in 2003. The review findings were communicated widely within the College, and were shared with the unions. Unfortunately, due to both significant change in college management and HR structures since 2003, and also various changes in responsibilities for key staff, the college is unable to locate the original report and associated data. However, summaries of the review and the agreed actions were compiled at the time, these have been deposited in the Library of the House.

Departmental Training

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff in her Department and its agencies have attended the  (a) Influencing with Integrity,  (b) Emotional Intelligence,  (c) Counselling Skills for the Workplace,  (d) Managing your Confidence,  (e) Balancing Work/Life Realities and  (f) Working Assertively training course run by the National School of Government in the last 12 months for which information is available; and at what cost.

Parmjit Dhanda: The number of staff in my Department who have attended the courses listed is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Course  Number of attendees  Cost (£) 
			 Influencing with Integrity 8 5,808 
			 Emotional Intelligence — — 
			 Counselling Skills for the Workplace — — 
			 Managing your confidence 1 1,149 
			 Balancing Work/Life Realities 2 2,160 
			 Working Assertively 5 3,630

Fire Alarms

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in how many dwelling fires where a smoke alarm fitted by the Fire and Rescue Service was present was the alarm raised by such alarms in each year since 2004.

Parmjit Dhanda: Information on the total number of smoke alarms installed by fire and rescue services in England, in dwellings which have raised the alarm in the presence of a fire is not collected by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Fire Services

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many fire service call outs were  (a) for house fires,  (b) for non-house fires,  (c) the result of hoax or malicious calls and  (d) for road traffic accidents in the last 12 months.

Parmjit Dhanda: The information requested is shown in the table, for the most recent years for which the data are available.
	
		
			  Primary dwelling fires, all non-dwelling fires, malicious false fire alarms attended in England, 2006; Number of road traffic accidents attended in 2005/06 
			   Number 
			 Dwelling fires, 2006 44,845 
			 Non-dwelling fires, 2006 294,967 
			 Malicious false fire alarms, 2006 25,427 
			 Road traffic accidents, 2005-06 42,308 
			  Note: Fire and false alarm data are provisional for 2006. Non-dwelling fires include secondary fires.

Fire Services: Standards

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the response times to emergency calls were for each fire service in each year since 2000.

Parmjit Dhanda: The following table shows the average response times of fire and rescue services in England between 2000 and 2006, the most recent calendar year for which data are available. The table shows the time from the initial call to attendance and covers primary fires only—response times to other incidents are not collected centrally by DCLG. Please note that figures for 2006 are provisional.
	
		
			  Average response time to fires( 1, 2, 3)  by FRS area and year of call, England, 2000 to 2006( 4) 
			  FRS area  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 ( 4) 2006 
			 England 6.3 6.3 6.4 6.6 6.8 7.1 7.2 
			 England—non-met counties 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.9 8.0 
			 
			 Avon 6.3 6.5 6.7 6.9 7.4 7.8 7.8 
			 Bedfordshire 6.6 7.1 6.9 6.7 7.2 7.0 7.3 
			 Berkshire 6.7 7.1 7.1 7.5 7.2 7.4 7.7 
			 Buckinghamshire 7.8 7.9 8.2 8.0 8.3 8.4 8.5 
			 Cambridgeshire 8.7 8.6 8.8 9.1 9.0 9.2 9.7 
			 Cheshire 6.4 6.9 6.7 6.9 7.2 7.3 7.6 
			 Cleveland 4.9 4.9 5.2 5.1 5.1 5.5 5.6 
			 Cornwall 9.2 9.0 9.8 9.8 9.9 9.8 9.9 
			 Cumbria 7.8 7.9 8.3 8.3 8.6 8.8 8.7 
			 Derbyshire 6.9 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.5 7.6 7.8 
			 Devon 6.7 6.6 6.9 6.8 8.0 7.6 7.5 
			 Dorset 7.2 6.9 7.2 6.7 7.1 7.9 8.1 
			 Durham 7.4 7.7 7.6 7.7 7.7 8.0 8.2 
			 East Sussex 6.7 6.2 6.6 6.7 6.5 6.6 6.8 
			 Essex 7.2 7.1 7.3 6.9 7.6 7.6 7.9 
			 Gloucestershire 8.6 8.5 8.4 8.5 9.2 8.9 9.1 
			 Hampshire 6.9 7.0 7.0 7.4 7.4 7.5 7.5 
			 Hereford & Worcester 7.9 8.1 8.5 8.3 8.3 8.9 8.5 
			 Hertfordshire 7.2 7.0 7.2 7.4 7.0 7.2 7.1 
			 Humberside 5.9 5.8 5.8 6.0 6.0 6.3 6.3 
			 Isle of Wight 6.9 7.6 7.2 7.2 7.2 6.6 7.2 
			 Kent 7.9 7.5 7.5 7.6 7.4 7.7 7.5 
			 Lancashire 5.7 5.9 6.3 6.7 6.6 6.7 6.9 
			 Leicestershire 6.5 6.7 6.6 6.7 6.9 7.2 7.9 
			 Lincolnshire 9.0 8.7 9.5 9.8 9.9 10.2 10.2 
			 Norfolk 8.8 8.6 8.0 8.0 7.8 9.1 9.1 
			 North Yorkshire 7.8 7.7 7.9 8.4 8.6 8.8 8.7 
			 Northamptonshire 6.5 6.5 6.4 6.8 7.4 7.6 7.7 
			 Northumberland 7.2 7.5 7.6 8.0 8.1 8.6 8.3 
			 Nottinghamshire 5.9 5.9 5.9 6.4 6.3 6.8 6.6 
			 Oxfordshire 7.8 8.3 8.8 9.1 8.8 9.0 9.1 
			 Shropshire 7.8 8.8 8.5 8.9 8.1 8.4 8.5 
			 Somerset 7.8 8.0 8.7 8.3 9.2 9.6 9.6 
			 Staffordshire 7.8 7.5 7.6 7.7 8.3 8.7 8.8 
			 Suffolk 8.7 8.8 9.0 9.3 9.0 9.5 9.2 
			 Surrey 7.4 7.9 7.8 8.3 8.0 8.6 8.5 
			 Warwickshire 7.1 7.8 7.7 7.7 8.5 7.3 8.0 
			 West Sussex 7,5 7.5 7.5 8.0 8.2 9.0 8.6 
			 Wiltshire 8.4 9.3 7.8 8.9 8.8 9.9 9.7 
			 Isles of Scilly 7.0 8.0 7.0 9.0 9.5 9.0 7.3 
			 
			 England—met counties 5.4 5.6 5.6 5.9 6.0 6.1 6.4 
			 Greater Manchester 6.1 6.1 5.9 6.0 6.0 6.3 6.8 
			 Merseyside 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.7 5.8 6.2 6.1 
			 South Yorkshire 6.5 6.7 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.8 6.9 
			 Tyne & Wear 5.1 5.1 5.0 5.3 5.2 5.4 5.5 
			 West Midlands 5.2 5.3 5.3 5.6 6.0 6.1 6.2 
			 West Yorkshire 6.5 6.2 6.3 6.8 6.7 6.8 7.0 
			 Greater London 4.9 5.0 5.1 5.1 5.4 5.5 5.5 
			 (1 )Excluding late call and heat and smoke damage only incidents. (2 )Excluding incidents not recorded during periods of industrial action in 2002 and 2003. (3) A small number of incidents with response time greater than an hour have been excluded so that results are not skewed by likely reporting errors. (4 )Provisional.

Fire Services: Standards

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average response times to emergency calls were for each fire service in each year since 2000.

Parmjit Dhanda: The following table shows the average response times of fire and rescue services in England between 2000 and 2006, the most recent calendar year for which data are available. The table shows the time from the initial call to attendance and covers primary fires only—response times to other incidents are not collected centrally by DCLG. Please note that figures for 2006 are provisional.
	
		
			  Average response time to fires( 1,2,3)  by FRS area and year of call, England, 2000-06( 4) 
			  FRS area  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006( 4) 
			 England 6.3 6.3 6.4 6.6 6.8 7.1 7.2 
			 
			 England—Non-Met counties 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.9 8.0 
			 
			 Avon 6.3 6.5 6.7 6.9 7.4 7.8 7.8 
			 Bedfordshire 6.6 7.1 6.9 6.7 7.2 7.0 7.3 
			 Berkshire 6.7 7.1 7.1 7.5 7.2 7.4 7.7 
			 Buckinghamshire 7.8 7.9 8.2 8.0 8.3 8.4 8.5 
			 Cambridgeshire 8.7 8.6 8.8 9.1 9.0 9.2 9.7 
			 Cheshire 6.4 6.9 6.7 6.9 7.2 7.3 7.6 
			 Cleveland 4.9 4.9 5.2 5.1 5.1 5.5 5.6 
			 Cornwall 9.2 9.0 9.8 9.8 9.9 9.8 9.9 
			 Cumbria 7.8 7.9 8.3 8.3 8.6 8.8 8.7 
			 Derbyshire 6.9 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.5 7.6 7.8 
			 Devon 6.7 6.6 6.9 6.8 8.0 7.6 7.5 
			 Dorset 7.2 6.9 7.2 6.7 7.1 7.9 8.1 
			 Durham 7.4 7.7 7.6 7.7 7.7 8.0 8.2 
			 East Sussex 6.7 6.2 6.6 6.7 6.5 6.6 6.8 
			 Essex 7.2 7.1 7.3 6.9 7.6 7.6 7.9 
			 Gloucestershire 8.6 8.5 8.4 8.5 9.2 8.9 9.1 
			 Hampshire 6.9 7.0 7.0 7.4 7.4 7.5 7.5 
			 Hereford and Worcester 7.9 8.1 8.5 8.3 8.3 8.9 8.5 
			 Hertfordshire 7.2 7.0 7.2 7.4 7.0 7.2 7.1 
			 Humberside 5.9 5.8 5.8 6.0 6.0 6.3 6.3 
			 Isle of Wight 6.9 7.6 7.2 7.2 7.2 6.6 7.2 
			 Kent 7.9 7.5 7.5 7.6 7.4 7.7 7.5 
			 Lancashire 5.7 5.9 6.3 6.7 6.6 6.7 6.9 
			 Leicestershire 6.5 6.7 6.6 6.7 6.9 7.2 7.9 
			 Lincolnshire 9.0 8.7 9.5 9.8 9.9 10.2 10.2 
			 Norfolk 8.8 8.6 8.0 8.0 7.8 9.1 9.1 
			 North Yorkshire 7.8 7.7 7.9 8.4 8.6 8.8 8.7 
			 Northamptonshire 6.5 6.5 6.4 6.8 7.4 7.6 7.7 
			 Northumberland 7.2 7.5 7.6 8.0 8.1 8.6 8.3 
			 Nottinghamshire 5.9 5.9 5.9 6.4 6.3 6.8 6.6 
			 Oxfordshire 7.8 8.3 8.8 9.1 8.8 9.0 9.1 
			 Shropshire 7.8 8.8 8.5 8.9 8.1 8.4 8.5 
			 Somerset 7.8 8.0 8.7 8.3 9.2 9.6 9.6 
			 Staffordshire 7.8 7.5 7.6 7.7 8.3 8.7 8.8 
			 Suffolk 8.7 8.8 9.0 9.3 9.0 9.5 9.2 
			 Surrey 7.4 7.9 7.8 8.3 8.0 8.6 8.5 
			 Warwickshire 7.1 7.8 7.7 7.7 8.5 7.3 8.0 
			 West Sussex 7.5 7.5 7.5 8.0 8.2 9.0 8.6 
			 Wiltshire 8.4 9.3 7.8 8.9 8.8 9.9 9.7 
			 Isles of Scilly 7.0 8.0 7.0 9.0 9.5 9.0 7.3 
			 
			 England—Met counties 5.4 5.6 5.6 5.9 6.0 6.1 6.4 
			 
			 Greater Manchester 6.1 6.1 5.9 6.0 6.0 6.3 6.8 
			 Merseyside 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.7 5.8 6.2 6.1 
			 South Yorkshire 6.5 6.7 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.8 6.9 
			 Tyne and Wear 5.1 5.1 5.0 5.3 5.2 5.4 5.5 
			 West Midlands 5.2 5.3 5.3 5.6 6.0 6.1 6.2 
			 West Yorkshire 6.5 6.2 6.3 6.8 6.7 6.8 7.0 
			 Greater London 4.9 5.0 5.1 5.1 5.4 5.5 5.5 
			 (1) Excluding late call and heat and smoke damage only incidents (2) Excluding incidents not recorded during periods of industrial action in 2002 and 2003 (3) A small number of incidents with response time greater than an hour have been excluded so that results are not skewed by likely reporting errors (4) Provisional

Fires: Motor Vehicles

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many malicious vehicle fires there have been in each year since 1997.

Parmjit Dhanda: The number of deliberate vehicle fires, in England, attended by fire and rescue services, in each year since 1997 is displayed in the following table. Figures for 2006 are provisional and may be subject to change.
	
		
			  Deliberate fires( 1)  in road vehicles, England, 1997-2006( 2) 
			   Road vehicles 
			 1997 35,162 
			 1998 40,090 
			 1999 51,888 
			 2000 58,979 
			 2001 67,158 
			 2002 66,018 
			 2003 61,088 
			 2004 46,660 
			 2005 40,335 
			 2006(2) 34,893 
			 (1) Excluding incidents not recorded during periods of industrial action in 2002 and 2003 (2) Provisional

Fires: Schools

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many fires there were in schools in England in each month in each of the last five years.

Parmjit Dhanda: Information on the number of fires, in schools, attended by fire and rescue services, in England, in each month from 2002 to 2006 is available in the following table. Data for 2006 are provisional and subject to change.
	
		
			  Fires( 1)  in schools by month of call, England, 2002 to 2006( 2) 
			  Month of call  2002  2003  2004  2005 ( 2) 2006 
			 Total 1,249 1,232 1,229 1,102 1,068 
			 January 83 86 122 102 106 
			 February 82 103 82 98 92 
			 March 108 140 178 95 117 
			 April 120 96 94 86 85 
			 May 124 120 108 98 95 
			 June 101 96 100 105 103 
			 July 118 82 81 107 87 
			 August 72 94 65 63 51 
			 September 154 125 88 79 68 
			 October 117 110 66 92 72 
			 November 102 93 158 120 110 
			 December 67 87 88 57 82 
			 (1 )Excluding incidents not recorded during periods of industrial action in 2002 and 2003. (2) Provisional.

Government Offices for the Regions: Manpower

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many of her Department's staff are allocated to manage the Government office network.

Parmjit Dhanda: On 30 September 2007 this Department employed the equivalent of 690 full-time staff in the Government office network, of which 22 worked in the Regional Co-ordination Unit, which is the corporate centre for the Government office network.

Land Use: Thames Gateway

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much previously developed land which could be used for new development lies within the  (a) Thames Gateway and  (b) Thames Gateway Interim Plan area.

Caroline Flint: There is no distinction between the area defined as the Thames Gateway and the area covered by the Thames Gateway Interim Plan. The Thames Gateway Interim Plan notes that some 3,800 hectares of brownfield sites were available in November 2006.

Local Government: Complaints

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many complaints were  (a) received,  (b) investigated and  (c) upheld by the Local Government Ombudsman for England in each year since 1990, broken down by local authority in relation to which the complaint was filed.

Parmjit Dhanda: Information for years 1990-96 has been placed in the Library of the House. For information 1997 to 2007 I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on 6 March,  Official Report, column 2780W.

Minister for the West Midlands

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2008,  Official Report, column 850W, on the Minister for the West Midlands, what the date of each listed visit was.

Parmjit Dhanda: The date of each of the visits made by the Regional Minister for the West Midlands since his appointment up to 11 February 2008 are given in the following table:
	
		
			  Organisation visited  Date of visit (2007) 
			 South Shropshire district council 16 July 
			 A flood-damaged Newbridge nursery/farm at Cleobury Mortimer 16 July 
			 BMW plant at Hams Hall in Coleshill, North Warwickshire 17 September 
			 The Regional Partnership Centre 17 September 
			 The West Midlands Business Council 17 September 
			 The West Midlands Regional Assembly 17 September 
			 The Science City Partnership 17 September 
			 Birmingham city council 29 October 
			 Blitz Games in Leamington Spa 5 November 
			 Telford and Wrekin council 12 November 
			 Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage 12 November 
			 The Ricoh factory 12 November 
			 Keele Science and Business Park 19 November 
			 North Staffordshire Regeneration Partnership 19 November 
			 Waterside housing development 19 November 
			 University Quarter in Stoke-on-Trent 3 December 
			 Stoke city council 3 December 
			 Wolverhampton University Science Park 3 December 
			 Wolverhampton Urban Regeneration Company 3 December 
			 Walsall Art Gallery 3 December 
			 Dudley Limestone Caverns 3 December 
			 Business leaders at the West Bromwich Building Society 3 December 
			 The Innovation Centre at Longbridge 10 December 
			 The Guild/Pridmore Estate 10 December 
			 Whitefriars Housing Association 10 December 
		
	
	The following planned visits were included in the answer of 4( )February and subsequently took place on 11 February:
	
		
			  Organisation visited  Date of visit (2008) 
			 Government Office West Midlands 11 February 
			 Jobcentre Plus 11 February 
			 Learning and Skills Centre 11 February 
			 West Midlands strategic health authority 11 February 
			 Advantage West Midlands 11 February

Navigation: Thames Estuary

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will commission research on the effect of the availability of pilots on shipping movements in the Thames estuary; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I have been asked to reply.
	No; pilotage services on the Thames are a matter for the Port of London Authority as the relevant competent harbour authority.

Planning: Retail Trade

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 10 December 2007,  Official Report, column 149W, on planning: retail trade, when she plans to publish a consultation document on proposals to revise Planning Policy Statement 6.

Iain Wright: holding answer 31 March 2008
	 We intend to take forward our Planning White Paper commitment, to replace the need and impact tests with a new test which has a strong focus on our town centre first policy, and which promotes competition and improves consumer choice, avoiding the unintended effects of the current need test. We will consult on revisions to Planning Policy Statement 6 shortly.

Regeneration: North East

Fraser Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps the Government have taken to promote regeneration in the North East since 1997.

John Healey: The last 10 years have seen significant progress in ensuring that no one should be seriously disadvantaged by where they live. In 2001 we set out a radical vision of transformation in our New Commitment to Neighbourhood Renewal. In the north-east we have promoted regeneration through: Neighbourhood Renewal Funding (NRF); New Deal for Communities (NDC); Neighbourhood Management Pathfinders; and Housing Market Renewal Pathfinders. 17 areas in the region have benefited from these programmes. From this April 14 local authority areas in the region will also benefit from the new Working Neighbourhoods Fund.

Regional Planning and Development: Empty Property

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions she has had with regional development agencies on the potential effects of changes to empty property rates on regeneration in each region.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 19 March 2008,  Official Report, column 1202W.

Roads: Accidents

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many fire service call outs were for road traffic accidents where alcohol was a contributory factor in the last 12 months.

Parmjit Dhanda: The information requested is not held centrally.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

China: Tibet

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his definition is of the special position of China in relation to Tibet to which he referred on the BBC World At One programme on 20 March 2007.

Meg Munn: Successive governments have regarded Tibet as autonomous, while recognising the special position of the Chinese there. This position was set out in detail to an inquiry by the Foreign Affairs Select Committee in 2000 as follows:
	"Successive British Governments have regarded Tibet as autonomous while recognising the special position of the Chinese there. We have consistently informed the Chinese government of our view that greater autonomy should be granted to the Tibetans. We have also emphasised that the current political difficulties in Tibet can best be resolved through dialogue between the Chinese government and the Tibetan people, including the Dalai Lama. We seek to encourage the Chinese authorities to enter into a dialogue without preconditions and have noted that the Dalai Lama has stated publicly that he does not seek independence, but greater autonomy for Tibet. Central to our interest in Tibet is our deep concern at evidence of human rights abuses."

Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  who is responsible for making appointments to the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals;
	(2)  when there was last a vacancy on the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals; who filled the vacancy; and what process was used to assess the suitability of candidates.

Gordon Brown: I have been asked to reply.
	Members of the Committee serve on an ex officio basis and are therefore automatically succeeded on the Committee by the successor to the official post. Members of the Committee are as follows:
	Secretary of the Cabinet and Head of the Home Civil Service (Chair)
	Her Majesty The Queen's Private Secretary
	Permanent Secretary, Prime Minister's Office
	Defence Services Secretary
	Permanent Secretary, Home Office
	Permanent Secretary, Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence
	Secretary of the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood

Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what measures are in place to ensure that a member of the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals is not involved in making a decision that could result in them being awarded an honour, decoration or medal;
	(2)  on how many occasions a member of the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals has received an honour, decoration or medal as a result of a decision of the committee.

Gordon Brown: I have been asked to reply.
	The Committee has been in existence for some 70 years. Its main purpose is to advise The Sovereign on proposals for the introduction or acceptance of new honours, decorations and medals. It does not normally consider awards for individual people. If the eligibility of an individual member to a specific award were discussed, they would be expected to declare their interest and take no part in the discussion. It is not possible to say on how many occasions members of the Committee may have received an honour or a medal as a result of a policy recommendation by the Committee.

Commonwealth: Overseas Students

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrangements he will make to ensure financial support for future high quality doctoral students from Commonwealth countries wishing to join research teams in United Kingdom universities.

Jim Murphy: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has committed £79,110,000 to scholarship funding (including to Commonwealth countries) over the next three years, in accordance with the FCO's global strategy and priorities. Other sources of funding for overseas doctoral students performing research in the UK are available through research councils and universities themselves.

Commonwealth: Overseas Students

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has held with the Prime Minister on the implementation of the announcement at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in November 2007 of an increase of UK funding for Commonwealth scholarships over the coming three years.

Jim Murphy: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not had any such discussions. The increase in UK funding for Commonwealth scholarships over the next three years is being made through the Department for International Development.

EU Countries: Terrorism

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what role the European Council has in assessing the terrorist threats facing the European Union.

Tony McNulty: I have been asked to reply.
	The EU Joint Situation Centre (SitCen), now known as the Single Intelligence Analysis Capacity (SIAC), provides a secure hub for receiving member states' intelligence assessments on a range of subjects including the threat from international terrorism. Strategic analysis of this material produced in the SIAC is used to inform EU decision-making.

Ferries: Scotland

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether it will be necessary to enter into a further tendering of the ferry services to the Scottish island communities currently provided by Caledonian MacBrayne should the Treaty of Lisbon be ratified and the Protocol on Services of General Interest come into effect.

David Cairns: I have been asked to reply.
	Article 2 of the protocol on services of general interest makes clear that the provisions of the treaty of Lisbon do not affect in any way the competence of member states to provide, commission and organise non-economic services of general interest. The Scottish Executive is responsible for determining, in light of this, whether a further tendering of Caledonian MacBrayne ferry services is necessary.

Group of Eight: AIDS

Richard Caborn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether AIDS-related issues will feature on the agenda for the next G8 meeting; and what progress has been made towards securing the objectives of the treatment for all by the 2010 agreement.

Meg Munn: I refer my right hon. Friend to the reply given by the Under-Secretary of State for International Development, my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow, West (Mr. Thomas) my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Mr. Thomas) gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh, South (Nigel Griffiths) on 19 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 1183-84W.

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what financial support the UK Government have allocated to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in each year since its establishment.

David Miliband: The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is funded from the UN budget and the UK's main financial contribution is calculated as a proportion of the UK's assessed UN contributions. The UK's voluntary and UN assessed contributions to ICTY since its establishment are as follows:
	
		
			   US$  
			 1995 1,016,190 Assessed 
			 1996 855,703 Assessed 
			 1997 495,178 Voluntary 
			 1998 1,436,888 Voluntary 
			 1998 204,500 Voluntary 
			 1999 3,100,000 Assessed 
			 2000 4,794,591 Assessed 
			 2001 5,390,183 Assessed 
			 2002 4,681,322 Assessed 
			 2003 4,466,322 Assessed 
			 2004 5,849,376 Assessed 
			 2004 20,000 Voluntary 
			 2005 5,809,039 Assessed 
			 2005 15,000 Assessed 
			 2006 5,319,942 Assessed 
			 2007 5,845,538 Assessed

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what discussions his Department had with the United States about the decision to disband the Iraqi Army and the Ba'ath Party in May 2003;
	(2)  what discussions he had with the United States on the decision to disband the Iraqi Army and the Ba'ath Party in May 2003.

Kim Howells: The detail of exchanges between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the US Administration in 2003 remains confidential. By the end of the initial hostilities the Iraqi army had effectively dissolved itself—there were no formed units, no equipment and all barracks had been comprehensively looted. At the same time throughout Iraq there was overwhelming popular pressure for de-Ba'athification to begin, reflecting the suffering and resentment among ordinary Iraqis as a consequence of three decades of repression by Saddam Hussein's regime.

Iraq: Weapons

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what status annotations made by individuals to the hard copy of the John Williams' draft of the 2002 Iraq dossier had within the drafting process.

Kim Howells: holding answer 25 February 2008
	I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's written ministerial statement of 18 February 2008,  Official Report, columns 1-2 WS. The document produced by John Williams was not used as the basis for the dossier the Government subsequently published.

Saudi Arabia: Overseas Residence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what guidance his Department gives to non-Muslim UK citizens working in Saudi Arabia who wish to practise their religion in a congregation; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: holding answer 25 March 2008
	Saudi Arabia has recently acknowledged the right of non-Muslims to practise their faith in private. But it still does not allow Christian or other non-Muslim religious services. Non-Muslims who contact our embassy in Riyadh are told that practising their faith in public is not permitted under Saudi law.

Simon Mann

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what steps he plans to take in the week beginning 31 March to monitor the  (a) treatment and  (b) risk of torture of Mr. Simon Mann in Black Beach Prison, Equatorial Guinea; and whether Mr. Mann is still being continuously shackled;
	(2)  what steps he plans to take in the week beginning 7 April to monitor the  (a) treatment and  (b) risk of torture of Mr. Simon Mann in Black Beach Prison, Equatorial Guinea;
	(3)  what steps he plans to take in the week beginning 14 April to monitor the  (a) treatment and  (b) risk of torture of Mr. Simon Mann in Black Beach Prison, Equatorial Guinea.

Meg Munn: Our consul from the British deputy high commission in Lagos was refused consular access to Simon Mann during his last visit to Equatorial Guinea in March. We have expressed our concern to the Equatorial Guinea authorities and are urgently seeking another consular visit. The authorities have offered assurances that Mr. Mann will be treated well whilst in detention. His welfare remains our primary concern.

Television

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 6 March 2008,  O fficial  R eport, column 2792W, on television, if he will list each individual internal department in his Department.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 20 March 2008
	A list of internal departments within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) on 26 March 2008 is given. The FCO is composed of directorates and other teams. Departments are listed by directorate. Where a directorate is not divided into departments, or where a team exists outside a directorate, these directorates and teams are listed separately. The organisational structure of the FCO changes and this list reflects the situation on the current date. Asterisks have been used to show where an FCO unit is jointly managed by the FCO and other Whitehall Departments.
	 Africa Directorate
	Africa Department (Equatorial)
	Africa Department (Southern)
	Pan Africa Policy Unit
	Sudan Unit
	 Americas Directorate
	Caribbean, Mexico and Central America Team
	North America Team
	South America Team
	 Asia-Pacific Directorate
	Far Eastern Group
	South East Asia and Pacific Group
	 Communication Directorate
	Internal Communication and Public Relations Group
	Press Office
	Public Diplomacy Group
	 Consular Directorate
	Consular Assistance Group
	Consular Crisis Group
	Passport and Documentary Services Group
	Consular Resources Group
	Consular Strategy, Communications and Training Group
	 Directorate for Defence and Strategic Threats
	Counter Proliferation Department
	Counter Terrorism Department
	Drugs and International Crime Department
	 Europe Directorate
	Europe Delivery Group
	Europe Global Group
	Enlargement South East and Wider Europe Group
	Western Mediterranean Group
	Western Balkans Group
	 FCO Response Centre
	 FCO Services
	 Finance Directorate
	 Global and Economic Issues Directorate
	Climate Change and Energy Group
	Global Economy Group
	Science and Innovation Group
	Sustainable Development and Business Group
	 Human Resources Directorate
	 Information and Technology Directorate
	 International Security Directorate
	Conflict Group
	Human Rights, Democracy and Good Governance Group
	International Organisations Department
	Security Policy Department
	Stabilisation Unit*
	 Legal Advisers
	 Middle East and North Africa Directorate
	Arab Israel and North Africa Group
	Arabian Peninsula Group
	Iran Coordination Group
	Iraq Group
	 Migration Directorate
	 Ministerial Offices
	 Ministerial Support Unit
	 Overseas Territories Directorate
	 Parliamentary Relations Team
	 Permanent Under Secretary's Office
	 Policy Planning Staff
	 Protocol Directorate
	 Russia, South Caucasus and Central Asia Directorate
	 Security and Estates Directorate
	 South Asia and Afghanistan Directorate
	Afghanistan Group
	Afghanistan Drugs Interdepartmental Unit
	South Asia Group
	 UKvisas*
	 UK Trade and Investment*

Thailand: Burma

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the policies of the Government of Thailand in regard to Burma; what discussions he has had with the Government of Thailand on Burma; and what reports he has received to the statements made by the Prime Minister of Thailand during, and following, his recent visit to Burma.

Meg Munn: I discussed issues relating to Burma with the Thai Foreign Minister, Noppadon Pattama, on 29 February 2008 during my recent visit to Thailand and again on 11 March, before he visited Burma. Foreign Minister Noppadon assured me that the new Thai Government want to become more actively engaged on Burma as part of a wider "Neighbourhood Engagement Policy".
	The Thai Government support the good offices mission of the UN Secretary-General to promote peaceful reconciliation in Burma. We noted the warm welcome Thai Prime Minister Samak received during his recent visit to Burma. We believe it is important that the Thai Government should send a clear message on the need for political transformation in Burma. We encourage Prime Minister Samak and other members of the Thai Government to reinforce this message in their contacts with their Burmese counterparts.
	We continue to discuss all aspects of the Burma situation with the Thai Government on a regular basis.

Western Sahara: Politics and Government

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last discussed the referendum process in the Western Sahara with representatives of Polisario.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not discussed the Western Sahara referendum process with representatives of the Polisario. However, when officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have met with the Polisario representatives to discuss Western Sahara, they have expressed our hope that a mutually acceptable political solution would be found, which would provide for the self determination of the people of Western Sahara. To this end, the UK fully supports the efforts of the UN Secretary-General and his personal envoy to the Western Sahara, Peter van Walsum.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Christmas

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much his Department and its agencies have spent on Christmas  (a) cards,  (b) parties and  (c) decorations in each of the last five years.

David Lammy: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) was created as a result of machinery of government changes in June 2007.
	In 2007, DIUS held a competition for further education college students to design an electronic Christmas card for the Department. The competition was won by Matthew Boulton college. This incurred no significant cost to the Department as colleges were individually invited to participate. The prize—a trip to a design centre or space centre—was donated by our partners. The DIUS Christmas card was distributed electronically through existing e-mail routes and therefore incurred no significant costs.
	DIUS did not purchase any Christmas decorations in 2007, nor did the Department hold a Christmas party. Divisions do hold Christmas parties for staff to attend, for which these staff must pay. Christmas parties are not paid for out of departmental budgets.
	Information on expenditure by our agencies on Christmas cards, and decorations is not held centrally by the Department. Therefore this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the hourly rates of pay of all non-permanent staff working for his Department and its agencies were in each of the last 12 months; and how many staff were receiving each rate in each of those months.

David Lammy: It is not possible to provide this information without incurring disproportionate costs of collection. Since the Department was formed by Machinery of Government changes on 28 June 2007 it has continued to make use of the services of several types of temporary staff, including temporaries and contractors from agencies. Such temporary staff are engaged for a variety of purposes and rates paid reflect the differences between generic and specialist services. Preferential rates of pay and terms of engagement have been negotiated with certain selected agencies under an over-arching framework agreement. This procurement process has the purpose of achieving best value for money and is used across Government.

Departmental Publicity

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much his Department, its predecessors and its agencies spent on managing their corporate identities in the last 12 month period for which figures are available.

David Lammy: Since formation of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills on 28 June 2007, the Department has spent an estimated £38,759.49 on managing its corporate identity. This includes development of the logo, branding guidelines, signposts, display panels and stationery.
	The Department is responsible for two agencies, National Weights and Measures Laboratory and the UK Intellectual Property Office.
	National Weights and Measures Laboratory have had no spend on managing their corporate identity over the past 12 months.
	UK Intellectual Property Office have had no spend on managing their corporate identity over the past 12 months.

Departmental Sustainable Development

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills when his Department plans to publish its sustainable operations policy statement.

David Lammy: We are currently developing our proposals for the Department's sustainable development action plan (SDAP) with a view to publication by the summer.

Education: Standards

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what his policy is on measures to avoid grade inflation.

Bill Rammell: UK degrees are internationally competitive qualifications and the value of UK degrees continues to be robust. Higher education institutions, as autonomous bodies, are responsible for the academic standards of the qualifications which they award. It is for each institution to determine its own curricula, organise teaching and learning, and assess and award final degrees.
	Institutions are supported by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) which exists to safeguard the public interest in sound standards of higher education qualifications and to encourage continuous improvement in the management of the quality of higher education. The QAA carries out this function by conducting audits of the management of quality in institutions. One aspect of these audits is to consider how closely institutions follow the QAA's Code of Practice, which includes a section dedicated to the assessment of students. The judgments of the QAA audit teams are made public in published reports. Additionally—and unique to the UK—all higher education institutions are expected to appoint external examiners to assist them to monitor the standards of their awards.

Hearing Impaired

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what provision is made for deaf people to access services provided by his Department through call centres.

David Lammy: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills has its telephone enquiry service provided as a shared service by the Department for Children Schools and Families.
	The Department for Children, Schools and Families' telephone inquiry service offers a textphone/minicom service for deaf people. They also accept inquiries by email, fax and letter.
	On information campaigns—such as provision of Student Finance—our advertising directs people to our campaign website which is fully accessible for people with impairments. A textphone number service is available on the aspirational Aimhigher website; and a transcript of the information DVD is also provided.

Higher Education: Finance

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills when he expects to implement the matched funding for funds raised by universities mentioned in the former Prime Minister's comments at Brunel University on 15 February 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The HE voluntary giving scheme is an unprecedented opportunity for institutions to increase their capacity to attract donations and I am delighted by the amount of enthusiasm it has generated among universities and potential donors. As we have already announced, the start date for donations to be eligible for the scheme will be 1 August 2008 and the matched funding will be paid retrospectively.
	Following extensive consultation with the sector and fundraising experts, we will shortly be announcing the final structure and rules of the scheme so that institutions are able to prepare for the start date.

Higher Education: Prisoners

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what plans he has to increase the higher education  (a) budget for and  (b) qualifications achieved in prisons.

David Lammy: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills set a budget of £547,000 for its support for prisoners studying undergraduate higher education with the Open university in 2007-08. In his written statement of 25 March 2008, the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills said that he will be considering the future management of financial support for offenders in higher education, based on recommendations from this Department and the Ministry of Justice.

Higher Education: Prisoners

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many prisoners are participating in  (a) distance learning provisions and  (b) distance learning provisions provided by the Open university.

David Lammy: The number of prisoners participating in distance learning provided by the Open university changes from day to day as prisoners start and complete part-time courses of study. On Thursday 20 March 2008, figures from the Open university show that 935 prisoners were studying Open university courses through distance learning. In 2007 a total of 1,372 prisoners undertook one or more Open university courses.
	Figures are not collected centrally on the number of prisoners where distance learning other than through the Open university is assessed as the most appropriate means of meeting their learning need.

Overseas Students

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many non-EU students attended English universities in each year since 1997.

Bill Rammell: The latest available information is given in the following table. Figures for 2007/08 will be available in January 2009.
	
		
			  Number of non-EU enrolments( 1)  at English higher education institutions 1997/98 to 2006/07 
			  Academic year  Non-EU enrolments 
			 1997/98 92,740 
			 1998/99 92,875 
			 1999/2000 97,500 
			 2000/01 107,040 
			 2001/02 117,940 
			 2002/03 142,660 
			 2003/04 161,250 
			 2004/05 163,750 
			 2005/06 164,975 
			 2006/07 171,835 
			 (1) Figures cover postgraduate and undergraduate students on full-time and part-time courses.  Note: Figures are calculated on a snapshot basis as at 1 December to maintain a consistent time series across all years and have been rounded to the nearest 5.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) 
		
	
	The figures indicate that international student numbers at English higher education institutions have increased by 85 per cent. since 1997. This is very much a success story as these students contribute to the cultural mix, the research capacity and the finances of our institutions. The growth of international student numbers has not been at the expense of home students as they are not in competition with each other for places.

Skilled Workers: Construction

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what assessment he has made of the skills need forecast made by ConstructionSkills in 2005 of the number of recruits to the construction industry required in each year to 2010; and what steps he  (a) has taken and  (b) plans to take in response.

David Lammy: Forecast data by ConstructionSkills anticipates that to meet the demand for new workers the construction industry in England will need to recruit 74,340 people per annum between 2008 and 2012. The Construction Industry has responded very positively to the Government's Skills Pledge, with over 1,000 employers already committed. For apprenticeships, the aim is to double the number of apprenticeships in the sector to 20,000 by 2012. The National Skills Academy for Construction was launched in 2007 and has a major programme of activities working with employers across England. The number of Inspire scholarships, offering support to individuals studying for a Built Environment degree, has increased this year to 300. Together these initiatives will make a strong contribution to help meet the skill needs of the sector.

Skilled Workers: Voluntary Organisations

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what assessment his Department has made of the contribution of third sector organisations towards developing the skill set of specific groups, with particular reference to those with learning disabilities.

David Lammy: Third sector organisations have a vital role to play in reaching specific user groups including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, providing opportunities to learn and train that might not otherwise exist, and supporting the Government's twin aims of economic success and social inclusion for all.
	In 2006-07 the Government invested around £177 million in 2006-07 in post-16 further education and skills provision delivered by 543 voluntary organisations directly contracted with the Learning and Skills Council.
	The Working Together Advisory Group (launched in December 2006) has brought together experts from across the third sector to advise the LSC on how it can work most effectively with third sector providers. The substantial progress that has been made was celebrated at a ministerial reception in January 2008.
	The LSC is continuing to work with the Advisory Group to make sure the third sector's contribution to targets and priorities is recognised and understood, and that third sector organisations are treated equitably with all other providers of services.

Spaceflight: Finance

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the Government's policy is on  (a) participation in and  (b) funding of a future European space flight mission.

Ian Pearson: The new UK Civil Space Strategy 2008-12 and beyond, published on 14 February 2008, stated that the European Space Agency (ESA) is a vital delivery partner. More than 60 per cent. of the UK Government's civil space expenditure is invested in ESA activities. The Government through the British National Space Centre considers participation and funding of each proposed European space flight mission on its merits.

Students: Fees and Charges

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what estimate he has made of the percentage of students from Wirral West constituency who are exempt from payment of tuition fees.

Bill Rammell: Fees are payable for all students. Tuition fee loans have been available since September 2006, so no student needs to find money up front to meet tuition fees. Borrowers start to repay loans in the April after they leave higher education. Repayment is linked to income and repayable at 9 per cent. on earnings above £15,000 a year. No repayment is required if income is below £15,000. Interest paid is linked to the rate of inflation, so in real terms what is paid back is equivalent to what was borrowed.
	Some employers and other agencies pay fees on behalf of students, including the Training and Development Agency for Schools and the NHS.
	Continuing students who entered higher education before 2006/07 are charged fees but those with lower incomes can apply for means-tested grants to cover part or all of the fees, and for non-means-tested fee contribution loans to cover any shortfall in the grant. These fee grants and fee contribution loans are paid direct to the HE institution. Information on fee grants and fee contribution loans is not available at constituency level.

Students: Finance

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether the new arrangements for funding students studying for qualifications that are equivalent or lower to qualifications they already hold will apply to all EU-domiciled students.

David Lammy: All students, including EU-domiciled students, who wish to study an equivalent or lower level course of higher education in England will be affected by the new funding arrangements.

Students: Finance

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether the new arrangements for funding students studying for qualifications that are equivalent or lower to qualifications they already hold will apply to students funded via Train to Gain.

David Lammy: The new arrangements apply to students studying for higher education qualifications which are equivalent to or lower than ones they already hold, whereas Train to Gain funding has been predominantly focused on low and intermediate skills. We are clear that any eligible provision which is co-funded by employers will continue to attract public subsidies. Since it was launched in April 2006, Train to Gain has helped over 170,000 people gain qualifications ranging from basic skills, such as literacy and numeracy, to intermediate level skills (level 3). It has also helped employers source other non qualification skills support, such as Investors in People, as well as more general business support from Business Link.
	Our plans for the expansion of Train to Gain were set out in November 2007 in Train to Gain: A Plan for Growth. Our ambition is that employers will be able to both identify and then source, against existing funding rules, their skills needs at all levels, including higher education.

Students: Identity Cards

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills whether English-domiciled home or EU higher education students will have to be in possession of an identity card in order to access student loans or other state or Institution-determined support related to their studies at English higher education institutions in 2009-10 or in any subsequent years.

Bill Rammell: There are no plans to require students to have an ID card to apply for a student loan or any other form of student support.

Students: Lancashire

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many students in West Lancashire constituency entered higher education in  (a) 2004,  (b) 2005 and  (c) 2006.

Bill Rammell: The latest available information is given in the table. Figures for the 2007-08 academic year will be available in January 2009.
	
		
			  Entrants to undergraduate courses at UK higher education institutions from West Lancashire parliamentary constituency—academic years 2004-05 to 2006-07 
			  Academic year  Entrants 
			 2004-05(1) 1,200 
			 2005-06 1,285 
			 2006-07 1,185 
			 (1) Figures for the Open University for 2004-05 have been included but these are known to undercount entrants to undergraduate courses at the Open University.  Note: Figures are based on a HESA Standard Registration Population and have been rounded to the nearest five.  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). 
		
	
	Overall, for all students from England, the UCAS figures show that, compared to 2006, applicants who had been accepted for entry in 2007, rose by 6.1 per cent. to 307,000, the highest ever. Latest figures for students applying for entry in 2008, show that applicants from England up by 7.1 per cent. compared to 2007.

Students: Loans

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many people with student loans who graduated in  (a) 2001,  (b) 2002,  (c) 2003,  (d) 2004,  (e) 2005,  (f) 2006 and  (g) 2007 have yet to make any repayments of a student loan.

Bill Rammell: Available data are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  English domiciled borrowers who have not yet made repayments on their student loans by loan type( 1) 
			  Cohort (repayment start)( 2)  Mortgage-style loan  Income-c ontingent loan( 3)  All loans( 4) 
			 April 2002 9,900 33,900 43,800 
			 April 2003 3,100 56,300 59,400 
			 April 2004 800 71,600 72,400 
			 April 2005 200 103,800 104,000 
			 April 2006 100 146,700 146,800 
			 April 2007(5) 100 n/a n/a 
			 n/a = Not available. (1) Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. Publicly-owned student loans. (2) Repayment begins from the April following the year of graduation, when income reaches the threshold. (3) Annual repayment information is passed to the SLC after the end of the tax year, to update borrowers' records. Some of the borrowers covered in the table will have made repayments via their employers recently that have not yet been reflected in their SLC accounts, and therefore appear not to have made repayments. (4) Borrowers with both types of loan may be counted twice. (5) Details of income-contingent loan repayments collected through the tax system are passed to the SLC after the end of the financial year to update borrowers' accounts. Therefore data are not yet available on repayments by 2006 graduates who became liable to begin repaying in the tax year 2007-08.  Source: Student Loans Company (SLC) 
		
	
	Borrowers who graduated in 2007 are not required to begin repaying their student loans until April 2008. Income-contingent loans replaced mortgage-style loans from 1998; the table reflects this change. It also shows that many people who have recently left university have not yet begun to repay, but those in older cohorts are now repaying.
	Borrowers with up to four mortgage-style loans repay over five years when their income exceeds the repayment threshold; those with five or more loans repay over seven years. The threshold for borrowers with mortgage-style loans is 85 per cent. of national average earnings, currently £25,287 from 1 September 2007. Borrowers are able to apply for deferment of repayments if their income is below this.
	Borrowers with income contingent loans repay at a rate of 9 per cent. of earnings above £15,000 a year. Repayments are usually collected through the tax system by employers, in the same way as income tax and national insurance contributions. Self employed borrowers make repayments through the self assessment system.

Students: Loans

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  how many full-time undergraduates qualified for 75 per cent. net income assessed loans of  (a) £2,685, (living at home),  (b) £3,470, (living away from home outside London) and  (c) £4,855, (living away from home in London), in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many full-time undergraduates qualified for maximum student loans of  (a) £3,580, (living at home),  (b) £4,625, (living away from home outside London) and  (c) £6,475, (living away from home in London), in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(3)  how many full-time undergraduates qualified for 25 per cent. income assessed loans of  (a) £895, (living at home),  (b) £1,155, (living away from home outside London) and  (c) £1,620, (living away from home in London), in the latest period for which figures are available.

Bill Rammell: Student maintenance loans consist of up to three elements: a non-means tested loan of around 75 per cent. of the maximum; a means tested loan for around 25 per cent. of the maximum; and an additional income-assessed amount for extra weeks if the course is longer than normal. The level of loan available is reduced for final year students. Students can choose to borrow less than their full entitlement.
	Available data are shown in the following tables.
	
		
			  English domiciled students receiving non-means tested maintenance loans by entitlement category, year and loan rate( 1) , academic year 2006/07 
			  Entitlement category—Living at:  Full year or final year  Students receiving loan at maximum rate  Students receiving loan below maximum rate 
			 Home Full 90,700 6,200 
			  Final 39,800 1,700 
			 
			 London Full 51,900 3,700 
			  Final 19,900 2,100 
			 
			 Elsewhere Full 305,200 23,400 
			  Final 123,500 11,100 
			 (1) Table excludes students who move between entitlement categories during the year (e.g. Home and Elsewhere). Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.  Source: Student Loans Company. 
		
	
	
		
			  English domiciled students receiving means tested maintenance loans by entitlement category, year and loan rate( 1) , academic year 2006/07 
			  Entitlement category—Living at:  Full year or final year  Students receiving loan at maximum rate  Students receiving loan below maximum rate 
			 Home Full 69,800 1,400 
			  Final 29,900 200 
			 
			 London Full 36,100 600 
			  Final 14,000 200 
			 
			 Elsewhere Full 186,400 3,200 
			  Final 76,200 500 
			 (1) Table excludes students who move between entitlement categories during the year (e.g. Home and Elsewhere). Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.  Source: Student Loans Company. 
		
	
	
		
			  English domiciled students receiving maintenance loans including extra weeks allowances by entitlement category, year and loan rate( 1) , academic year 2006/07 
			  Entitlement category— Living at:  Full year or final year  Students receiving loan above maximum rate (due to extra weeks)  Students receiving loan at maximum rate  Students receiving loan below maximum rate 
			 Home Full 45,000 24,900 27,000 
			  Final 19,900 10,100 11,500 
			  
			 London Full 25,600 10,600 19,400 
			  Final 10,100 3,900 8,000 
			  
			 Elsewhere Full 82,200 104,500 141,900 
			  Final 36,300 40,000 58,300 
			 (1) Table relates to total maintenance loans including non-means tested loans, means tested loans and extra weeks allowances. Excludes students who move between entitlement categories during the year (e.g. Home and Elsewhere). Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.  Source: Student Loans Company.

Students: Low Incomes

Linda Gilroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's policies to encourage people from low income households to study at university.

Bill Rammell: This Government have instigated and supported a range of policies to encourage a wider range of people to be able and willing to participate in higher education (HE). We have done this because of economic need and to support social justice. Forecasts show that half of the 12 million jobs that should become vacant between 2004 and 2014 will be in occupations most likely to employ graduates. And higher education offers significant benefits to individuals—over their working life, the average graduate can expect to earn comfortably over £100,000 more than a similar person with just A levels, and graduates experience better health, are less likely to commit crime and are more likely to engage in civil society. It is right that these benefits should be available to all, regardless of their background, but the issues affecting HE participation patterns are varied and need to be addressed across the education system.
	In recent years we have made good progress. There has been a steady increase in the number and proportion of entrants to HE who come from lower social class backgrounds. This is reflected in recent UCAS application data for 2008 entry—in England, the proportion of applicants coming from lower social class backgrounds is up from 28.2 per cent. in 2007 to 28.9 per cent. this year. The numbers and proportions of entrants to HE from lower social class backgrounds are at their highest ever levels, as are the numbers and proportions of entrants from state schools and low participation neighbourhoods. Similarly, the proportion of young people from lower social class backgrounds is at it highest level.
	There is a range of interventions which contribute to this progress—the Aimhigher Programme, improvement in student financial support both from the Government and from higher education institution bursaries, institutions' own outreach activity working directly with schools and the Government's broader efforts to raise attainment across the board and to narrow attainment gaps.
	The Aimhigher Programme has been operating nationally since 2004 although similar, predecessor programmes began in 2001. The programme is designed to increase opportunities for people from under-represented groups to participate in HE. There have been various evaluations of the programme which show that it has had a positive impact on participants' attainment and their attitudes towards HE. In the programme's early years (2001 to 2002 when it was known as Aimhigher: Excellence Challenge (AH: EC)), and before it became a national programme, research showed that being part of AH: EC:
	(a) led to an improvement in the proportion, by 4.6 per cent., of year nine pupils attaining levels four, five or six in maths at key stage 3;
	(b) involved improvement in nearly all measures of year 11's GCSE results, with an average improvement in total points scored of 2.5, which corresponds to an increase of between two and three grades in one GCSE; and
	(c) led to participants being more likely to say that they intended to take part in HE (by 3.9 percentage points).
	Additional research conducted by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) showed that over 70 per cent. of universities responding to its survey said that Aimhigher as a national programme added value to their widening participation policies and activities, that Aimhigher provided a positive and welcome boost to their own efforts to widen participation in HE and that this translated into increased applications.
	Widening participation requires long-term address and we have announced the continuation of Aimhigher to 2011. We will continue to work with HEFCE to commission a national study to report before the end of 2011 on outcomes across the whole programme since 2004, when the unified, national Aimhigher was introduced. And at local level, Aimhigher Partnerships will determine the extent to which the Aimhigher programme has raised HE awareness, aspirations and attainment among participants and within participating institutions.
	There is less accumulated evidence about the effectiveness of other interventions given that they were introduced relatively recently. But we do know that the Office for Fair Access, which agrees access agreements with HEIs, showing what they will do to attract students from lower-income backgrounds, reported that in the first operational year of access agreements, 2006-07:
	(a) HEIs paid £96 million to low income students in bursaries in 2006-07 (21.4 per cent. of additional income went back to students in support), benefiting well over 70,000 low income students;
	(b) for those on the lowest incomes (entitled to full state grant) the mean bursary was £870. A typical bursary (median and mode) by institution for the lowest income is £1,000 per year;
	(c) £21 million additional income spent on additional outreach in 2006-07; and
	(d) by 2008-09 institutions estimate that they will be disbursing over £300 million a year in bursaries and scholarships to students on low incomes (OFFA definition of low income is family incomes up to £47,425 (2006-07 values).
	We continue to support the work of universities and colleges through the Department's own communications activity and make efforts to raise awareness of bursaries alongside all other elements of the higher education student finance package.

Television

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many plasma television screens have been purchased by his Department, since its creation; and how many such screens have been purchased by its agencies in the last 24 months.

David Lammy: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) was created by the Prime Minister on 28 June 2007.
	DIUS has purchased eight plasma screens for use at its London and Sheffield offices.
	The UK Intellectual Property Office (UK-IPO) has purchased three plasma screen TVs in the last 24 months. Other than purchases for the purpose of testing under the RoHS regulations, the National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML) has not purchased any plasma TV screens in the last 24 months.

Training

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many adult and employer responsive training places will be available in the academic year 2010-11.

Bill Rammell: The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) Statement of Priorities published on 16 November set out the funding strategy for post-16 further education (FE) and skills for the comprehensive spending review (CSR) period (2008-09 to 2010-11). Total investment on post-16 FE and skills will increase from £11.2 billion in 2007-08 to £12.4 billion in 2010-11.
	Annex C to the joint Grant Letter to the LSC from my Department and Department for Children, Schools and Families provides a breakdown of the number of funded places by programme. This is reproduced here and is also available at:
	http://www.dius.gov.uk/publications.html.
	It shows that in 2010-11 a total of 2.5 million adult learner places will be funded through the adult learner and employer responsive models. In line with the national roll-out of level 3 provision delivered through Train to Gain set out in 'Train to Gain: A Plan for Growth (November 2007)', the number of funded adult learners on full level 3 provision significantly increases between 2009-10 and 2010-11 (from 144,000 to 356,000). This increase reflects the higher level skills challenge set out by Lord Leitch. It more than offsets the planned reductions in funded non-accredited and non-priority learning places in 2010-11 resulting in an overall increase in funded adult learner places compared with 2009-10.
	Taking into account all adult learners funded by the LSC, not just those on provision funded through the adult learner and employer learner responsive models, on average over three million adult learners will be funded each year over the CSR period.
	
		
			  Planned outputs/volumes (academic year) 
			   Academic years 
			  Budget line  2008-09  2009-10  2010-11 
			   Learner numbers 
			 Youth Participation
			 of which for planning purposes:
			 School Sixth Forms 376,000 370,000 364,000 
			 16-19 FE 773,000 773,000 773,000 
			 16-18 Apprenticeships 240,000 260,000 281,000 
			 Entry to Employment 70,000 70,000 70,000 
			 Total Youth Participation 1,460,000 1,473,000 1,488,000 
			 Academies 16,000 22,000 28,000 
			 
			 Adult Learner Responsive
			 FE19+ 1,372,000 1,127,000 1,154,000 
			 Ufl/learndirect 204,000 179,000 152,000 
			 Employability Learning 24,000 29,000 37,000 
			 Adult Learner Responsive sub total 1,600,000 1,335,000 1,343,000 
			 of which for planning purposes:
			 Foundation Learning Tier 368,000 372,000 374,000 
			 Skills for Life 923,000 914,000 904,000 
			 Full Level 2 133,000 143,000 161,000 
			 Full Level 3 137,000 157,000 165,000 
			 Developmental Learning 497,000 216,000 116,000 
			 
			 Employer Responsive
			 Employer based NVQs 185,000 196,000 216,000 
			 Apprenticeships/Workbased Learning 114,000 124,000 126,000 
			 Train to Gain 600,000 638,000 872,000 
			 Employer Responsive sub total 899,000 958,000 1,214,000 
			 of which for planning purposes:
			 Foundation Learning Tier 10,000 10,000 10,000 
			 Skills for Life 304,000 313,000 323,000 
			 Full Level 2 (Excluding Apprenticeships) 603,000 637,000 664,000 
			 Full Level 3 (Excluding Apprenticeships) 136,000 144,000 356,000 
			 Apprenticeships 113,000 123,000 125,000 
			 Developmental Learning 11,000 3,000 0 
			 
			 Safeguarded Learning 630,000 605,000 585,000 
			 Total Adult and Employer Responsive 2,499,000 2,293,000 2,557,000 
		
	
	
		
			  Key PSA related outputs 
			   2008-09  2009-10  2010-11 
			 Skills for Life—achievements counting towards the literacy level 1 target and the numeracy entry level 3 target 349,000 368,000 387,000 
			 First full level 2 Adult Achievements (All) 346,000 388,000 412,000 
			 First full level 3 115,000 168,000 213,000 
			 16-18 Apprenticeships Average in Learning 160,000 172,000 183,000 
			 Total Apprenticeship Completions 123,000 134,000 142,000 
			  Notes: 1. Skills for Life volumes when added together will remain constant. There will be issued shortly a consultation document on English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). These projections will then be remodelled. 2. Youth Participation figures exclude those delivered through specialist colleges with learners with learning disabilities and or difficulties. 3. Funding of academies is not routed through the LSC, so academy volumes are not included in the Youth Participation total. However Academies volumes do contribute to overall participation. 4. Component learner numbers and achievements presented are not cumulative. For example; a learner may undertake an apprenticeship programme of study that incorporates the successful achievements of both a Skills for Life literacy and numeracy qualification. 5. Developmental learning is defined as below level 2 learning outside the national qualifications framework, and learning above level 3. Figures are indicative and subject to further modelling. Activity associated with developmental learning will form part of the consultation the Secretary of State will launch shortly to help inform our approach to adult learning.

Training: Apprentices

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the average length of apprenticeships was at the latest date for which figures are available.

David Lammy: The latest figures available for average length of apprenticeships are for 2006/07. These figures show that at that time, the average length of stay was 57 weeks and for Advanced Apprenticeships 91.1 weeks.
	This is a marked increase in length of stay since 2002/03 figures—(45.4 weeks for Apprenticeships and 84.2 weeks for Advanced Apprenticeships) and reflects the improving completion rate which is currently 63 per cent. We aim to improve this further by enhancing the quality of apprenticeship provision and the apprenticeship experience for young people and adults.

Training: British Nationality

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills pursuant to the answer of 21 February 2008,  Official Report, column 878W, on training: British nationality, how many and what proportion of those undertaking  (a) Skills for Life courses,  (b) apprenticeships,  (c) first time level 2 adult training and  (d) train to gain programmes are not (i) British citizens, (ii) EU citizens and (iii) UK residents.

Bill Rammell: The Learning and Skills 'Statement of Priorities' published on 16 November 2007 reaffirms the Government's commitment to up-skilling British people to provide them with the skills required in a more competitive labour market, to get them off benefits and into jobs and to help them to advance from low skilled to higher skilled jobs. We will continue to help those who need to improve their skills—the overwhelming majority of whom, but not all, are British.
	In 2006/07 there were a total of 2.060 million adult learners (aged 19+) on further education (FE) provision including Skills for Life and level 2 training funded by the Learning and Skills Council. Approximately 36,500 of these learners are recorded as having a country of domicile outside the United Kingdom and its Islands. Due to the way data are collected, further differentiation of these learners to identify all those domiciled outside the European Union or by qualification level is not possible.
	The total number of LSC-funded adult learners on work-based learning (including apprenticeships) and Train to Gain courses in 2006/07 was 204,300 and 169,400 respectively. It is not possible to break down these figures by country of domicile so EU and non-EU residents cannot be identified.

Vocational Education: Mature Students

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what  (a) grants and  (b) training schemes are available through his Department for people (i) over 55-years-old and (ii) in retirement to learn new job skills.

David Lammy: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 3 March,  Official Report, column 2217W.

Vocational Training: Prisoners

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2008,  Official Report, column 861W, on vocational training: prisoners, what plans he has to conduct a new skills audit of prisoners; and if he will make a statement.

David Lammy: Proposals for developing the delivery of offender learning were published in September 2007 in 'Developing the Offenders' Learning and Skills Service: The Prospectus'. The prospectus set out the intention to commission a series of reviews based on criminal justice areas, now to be called Offender Skills Curriculum Area Reviews.
	The outcome of the reviews will be to improve the alignment between the supply of learning and skills and the needs of offenders. The reviews will determine the range, type and level of provision to be in place in each prison establishment or area so we can commission a more effective service.

HEALTH

Breast Cancer: Screening

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many breast cancer screenings took place in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) England in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: The following table shows breast screening coverage in the areas requested. We are unable to identify Jarrow separately. Jarrow constituency is within South Tyneside primary care trust (PCT), for whom information has been provided.
	Coverage is the percentage of eligible women with a breast screening test result in the previous three years.
	
		
			  Breast  screening programme: coverage of  women in  the  t arget  a ge  g roup( 1)  for specified organisations, 31 March 1997 to 2007 
			Women aged 50-64( 1) 
			1997  1998  1999  2000  2001 
			  England   
			  Eligible population (2) 4,025,525 4,158,306 4,226,600 4,319,800 4,373,642 
			  Women screened (less than 3 years since last test) 2,641,364 2,761,993 2,861,408 2,993,621 3,070,752 
			  Coverage (less than 3 years since last test) (%) 65.6 66.4 67.7 69.3 70.2 
			  of which:   
			  Q30 North East Strategic Health Authority (SHA)  
			  Eligible population (2) 215,212 220,813 223,051 226,260 228,493 
			  Women screened (less than 3 years since last test) 151,833 154,187 158,985 167,650 170,887 
			  Coverage (less than 3 years since last test) (%) 70.6 69.8 71.3 74.1 74.8 
			  of which:   
			 QDG Gateshead and South Tyneside Health Authority (HA)  
			  Eligible population (2) 29,889 30,300 30,328 30,668 30,885 
			  Women screened (less than 3 years since last test) 21,753 21,267 22,028 22,660 22,754 
			  Coverage (less than 3 years since last test) (%) 72.8 70.2 72.6 73.9 73.7 
			
			 5KF Gateshead PCT  
			  Eligible population (2) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Women screened (less than 3 years since last test) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Coverage (less than 3 years since last test) (%) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			
			 5KG South Tyneside PCT  
			  Eligible population( 2) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Women screened (less than 3 years since last test) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Coverage (less than 3 years since last test) (%) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
		
	
	
		
			Women aged 53-64( 1) 
			2002  2003  204  2005  2006  2007 
			  England
			  Eligible population (2) 3,472,984 3,519,934 3,538,224 3,574,534 3,633,181 3,690,074 
			  Women screened (less than 3 years since last test) 2,636.080 2,649,809 2,651,122 2,697,665 2,756,716 2,805,717 
			  Coverage (less than 3 years since last test) (%) 75.9 75.3 74.9 75.5 75.9 76.0 
			  of which:
			  Q30 North East Strategic Health Authority (SHA)   
			  Eligible population (2) 180,539 182,716 183,483 185,454 188,399 191,892 
			  Women screened (less than 3 years since last test) 144,531 140,772 135,110 141,025 147,306 152,310 
			  Coverage (less than 3 years since last test) (%) 80.1 77.0 73.6 76.0 78.2 76.4 
			  of which:
			 QDG Gateshead and South Tyneside Health Authority (HA)   
			  Eligible population (2) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Women screened (less than 3 years since last test) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  Coverage (less than 3 years since last test) (%) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 
			 5KF Gateshead PCT   
			  Eligible population (2) 14,573 14,525 14,384 14,412 14,523 14,566 
			  Women screened (less than 3 years since last test) 11,660 11,741 11,553 11,650 11,700 11,764 
			  Coverage (less than 3 years since last test) (%) 80.0 80.8 80.3 80.8 80.6 80.8 
			 
			 5KG South Tyneside PCT   
			  Eligible population( 2) 10,305 10,446 10,468 10,535 10,713 10,977 
			  Women screened (less than 3 years since last test) 8,104 7,962 8,422 8,520 8,586 8,664 
			  Coverage (less than 3 years since last test) (%) 78.6 76.2 80.5 80.9 80.1 78.9 
			 n/a = not available (1) The breast screening programme covers women aged 50-64 but is best assessed using the 53-64 age group as women may be first called at any time between their 50(th) and 53(rd) birthdays. Prior to 2002 data for women aged 50-53 cannot be identified so coverage is presented for women aged 50-64. (2) This is the number of women in the resident population less those with recall ceased for clinical reasons.  Notes: 1. Data prior to 2006 have been estimated to match current SHA boundaries. 2. Data from 2002 to 2006 have been estimated to match current Primary Care Organisation (PCO) boundaries. 3. Jarrow constituency is within South Tyneside PCT, we are unable to identify Jarrow separately. 4. The coverage of the breast screening programme is the proportion of women resident and eligible that have had a test with a recorded result at least once in the previous three years. 5. The breast screening programme was extended to invite women aged 65-70 in April 2001. 6. The last unit began inviting women aged 65-70 in April 2006 and full coverage should be achieved by 2008-09.  Source:  KC63, The Information Centre for health and social care.

Burton Independent Sector Treatment Centre

Charlotte Atkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of services at Burton Independent Sector Treatment Centre has been taken up by patients  (a) across the whole contract,  (b) from within the North Staffordshire Primary Care Trust area,  (c) from within the Stoke-on-Trent Primary Care Trust area and  (d) from within the South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust area (i) in 2006-07 and (ii) at present.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 19 March 2008
	Utilisation data for the Burton independent sector treatment centre (ISTC) contract as a whole were collected for the financial year 2006-07 in line with the Department's contractual requirements. In addition to this, for the year 2007-08, the local national health service with support of the Central Contract Monitoring Unit of the Department's Commercial Directorate decided also to collect primary care trust (PCT) based data to support intensive efforts to improve overall utilisation and PCT specific initiatives. This was part of a range of initiatives that have improved utilisation in all PCTs and therefore the contract as a whole.
	Overall contract utilisation for 2006-007 and 2007-08 and PCT based data for the contract year 2007-08 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			   2006-07  2007-08 (up to 31 January 2008) 
			 Overall contract utilisation 71 79 
			 North Staffordshire PCT — 22 
			 Stoke on Trent PCT — 5 
			 South Staffordshire PCT — 120 
			  Note: PCTs are contracted to refer an agreed value of activity to the ISTC and utilisation shows the percentage of their agreed value that has actually been used.

Care Homes

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1734W on care homes, if he will break down the statistics provided by  (a) region and  (b) local authority.

Ivan Lewis: Information provided by the Commission for Social Care Inspection has been placed in the Library. The information shows the numbers of care homes for older people with scores of 1—standard not met—and 2—standard not met with minor shortfall—against each of the National Minimum Standards for the year ending 31 March 2007.

Care Homes: MRSA

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health  
	(1)  what proportion of (a) MRSA and (b) clostridium difficile cases there were in care homes in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many  (a) recorded incidents of and  (b) deaths attributed to (i) MRSA and (ii) clostridium difficile in (A) care homes and (B) other community settings there were in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: The information requested is not available however the Health Protection Agency's (HPA) mandatory surveillance scheme provides some limited information for methicillin-resistant  Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) blood stream infections.
	Information on the patient location for  Clostridium difficile surveillance has been collected since April 2007 and we aim to publish this later this year.
	Death certificates record the place where a person dies, but not where any infections may have been acquired. It is not possible from the information on a death certificate to know whether an infection was acquired in the care home or other place where a patient died. Patients are often transferred between hospitals, nursing/care homes and other establishments and may acquire infections in a different place from where they died.

Care Homes: Standards

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many care homes for the elderly were closed  (a) temporarily and  (b) permanently on grounds of failure (i) to meet national minimum standards and (ii) to comply with conditions placed on them as a result of not meeting national minimum standards in each of the last three years.

Ivan Lewis: We have been informed by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) that, during the current inspection year, from 1 April 2007-29 February 2008, there have been eight urgent and 16 non-urgent de-registrations of care homes for older people.
	While CSCI keeps individual records containing the history and reasons for closures of older people's care homes, it does not hold overall statistics that would enable the numbers of de-registrations to be broken down into the categories requested.

Children: Protection

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what guidance is given by  (a) his Department and  (b) NHS trusts to clinicians on substantiating clinical opinion and medical diagnosis prior to the instigation of child protection measures;
	(2)  how many child protection investigations were initiated by the Royal Liverpool Children's NHS Trust in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006; and in what percentage of these cases a child was shown to be (i) in need of and (ii) not in need of protection;
	(3)  whether NHS trusts publish data on the number of child protection investigations undertaken;
	(4)  what account NHS trusts take of information on child protection investigations in carrying out their functions.

Ann Keen: We understand that the Children's Safeguarding team at the Rainbow Centre at Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Liverpool, which is a part of the Royal Liverpool Children's NHS Trust, sees on average 40 children per month, taken from a large catchment area that includes the boroughs of Liverpool, Knowsley and South Sefton. We do not have any further information on the percentage of cases at the Rainbow Centre where children did or did not need protection.
	The Government's guidance for organisations working with children including both primary care trusts and NHS trusts are contained in "Working Together to Safeguard Children", published by the Stationery Office in April 2006, copies of which are available in the Library. This sets out a whole chapter (chapter 5) on managing individual cases and a chapter (chapter 2) on roles and responsibilities has a section on health services. National health service trusts are not required to publish data on the number of child protection investigations undertaken.
	A diagnosis of child abuse is not a matter for a clinician alone, but would be for multi-disciplinary decision. Primary care trusts and NHS trusts are required to work with local authorities in the establishment of Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) and as statutory partners. The LSCBs ensures that the duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children is carried out appropriately.

Chiropody: Greater London

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the level of provision of free podiatry services by primary care trusts in London.

Ann Keen: No recent assessment has been made of podiatry services in London. It is for local primary care trusts to determine how best to use their funds to meet national and local priorities for improving health services, including podiatry, and to commission services accordingly.

Chronically Sick: Cheshire

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in implementing the targets for the national service framework for long-term conditions in Eddisbury.

Ann Keen: It is for individual primary care trusts (PCTs), including Western Cheshire PCT and the Central and Eastern PCT, within the national health service to develop locally the levels of service described in the National Service Framework for Long-term (Neurological) Conditions (the NSF). The NSF has a 10-year implementation programme from its publication in March 2005, with flexibility for organisations to set the pace of change locally to take account of differences in local priorities and needs. A copy of the NSF is available in the Library.
	Information on the progress that has been achieved locally with regard to the implementation of the targets set out in the NSF can be obtained direct from Western Cheshire PCT and the Central and Eastern PCT.

Dental Services: Ashford

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dentists accepting NHS patients in Ashford he estimates will have used all their units of dental activity before the end of the financial year.

Ann Keen: The Department does not assess the performance of individual dental providers. Primary care trusts, as the commissioning bodies, are responsible for monitoring the delivery of services by their local dental providers.

Dental Services: South East

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number and percentage of the population of  (a) children and  (b) adults in (i) the South East of England and (ii) Kent who were seen by an NHS dentist in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: The number of patients seen in a 24-month period replaced registration as a measure of access to national health service dentistry on 1 April 2006. Under the old contractual arrangements, which were in place up to and including 31 March 2006, access was measured through the number of patients registered with an NHS dentist. This measure is not directly comparable to the "patients seen" measure used under the new contractual arrangements.
	The number and percentage of the population registered with an NHS dentist in England at 31 March each year from 1997 to 2006 are available in Annex A and Annex B of the report 'NHS Dental Activity and Workforce Report, England: 31 March 2006'. The information is provided for children and adults by primary care trust (PCT) and strategic health authority (SHA).
	This report was published on 23 August 2006 and is available in the Library. It is also available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/dentistry/nhs-dental-activity-and-workforce-report-england-31-march-2006
	The number and percentage of the population seen by an NHS dentist in the 24-month periods ending 31 March 2006, 31 March 2007, 30 June 2007 and 30 September 2007 are available in tables Cl and C2 of Annex 3 of the report 'NHS Dental Statistics for England: Quarter 2, 30 September 2007'. The information is provided for children and adults by PCT and SHA.
	This report was published on 28 February 2008 and is available in the Library. It is also available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dentalstatsq20708
	Both reports were published by The Information Centre for health and social care.

Dental Services: Wirral

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on NHS dentistry in Wirral West constituency in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: The Government's fundamental reform programme for primary dental care services was introduced from 1 April 2006. Primary care trusts (PCTs) were given responsibility for planning and commissioning primary dental services and provided with local, devolved, dental budgets.
	Wirral PCT reported the following expenditure on primary dental care services in 2006-07, the first year of the new service arrangements. This has been set out in the following table. However, data on expenditure by individual parliamentary constituency are not collected centrally.
	
		
			  National health s ervice expenditure on primary dental care services, Wirral PCT, 2006-07 
			  £000 
			 Gross expenditure 20,110 
			 Income from dental charges paid by patients 4,879 
			 Net expenditure 15,231 
			  Note: Resource expenditure, as noted in end year accounts 
		
	
	Prior to April 2006, most primary dental care services were provided under former general dental service (GDS) arrangements. These were demand led services where the pattern of dental expenditure was largely determined by where dentists chose to practice, and how much NHS work they chose to undertake. PCTs were not given fixed funding allocations, except in those areas where personal dental services (PDS) pilots were established to test alternative, local commissioning arrangements and new forms of contract remuneration.
	Local level data on primary dental care expenditure prior to April 2006 is held by the Information Centre for health and social care. Copies of the report 'NHS Expenditure for General Dental Services and Personal Dental Services: England 1997-98 to 2005-06' have been placed in the Library and is also available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/dentistry/nhs-expenditure-for-general-dental-services-and-personal-dental-services:-england-1997-98-2005-06

Departmental Plants

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on pot plants in each of the last five years.

Ben Bradshaw: The figures in the table are the agreed contract costs associated with the provision of all horticultural services to the Department across its estate. It is not possible to break down these figures further. The figures include the salary costs of the contract personnel. Figures in each of the last five years are as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2003-04 14,500 
			 2004-05 14,500 
			 2005-06 14,500 
			 2006-07 14,500 
			 2007-08 14,500

Departmental Public Expenditure

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much  (a) resource and  (b) capital underspend incurred by his Department in 2007-08 he expects to be carried forward.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department will as usual publish details of any 2007-08 underspend and carry forward in the 2007-08 Public Expenditure Outturn White Paper (due to be published in summer 2008).

Eastern and Coastal Kent Primary Care Trust: Staff Assaults

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many attacks on NHS staff have been reported by  (a) Eastern and Coastal Kent Primary Care Trust,  (b) East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust and  (c) their predecessor Trusts in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: The Department collected figures on the number of violent incidents in the year 2002-03.
	In April 2003 the National Health Service Security Management Service (NHS SMS) was created and assumed responsibility for tackling violence against NHS staff. Since 2004-05 the NHS SMS has collected statistics for the number of reported physical assaults against NHS staff.
	The numbers of violent incidents and reported physical assaults for 2002-03 and for 2004-05 to 2006-07 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Violent incidents  Physical assaults 
			  NHS trusts  2002-03  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			 East Kent Hospitals NHS trust 118 84 157 120 
			 East and Coastal Kent primary care trust — — — 157 
			 Ashford primary care trust(1) 2 79 93 — 
			 Canterbury and Coastal primary care trust(1) 28 15 10 — 
			 East Kent Coastal primary care trust(1) 10 6 4 — 
			 Shepway primary care crust(1) 6 1 2 — 
			 Swale primary care trust(1) 56 46 18 — 
			 (1) On 1 October 2006, the mentioned primary care trusts merged to form Eastern and Coastal Kent primary care trust.

Eyesight: Testing

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many eye tests funded by the public purse in  (a) England and  (b) each region in each of the last 10 years; and what percentage of those who had eye tests subsequently received (i) spectacles for the first time and (ii) replacement or repairs of spectacles funded by the public purse.

Ann Keen: Information on the number of sights paid for by the national health service in England, is provided in table 1 of the 'General Ophthalmic Services: Activity Statistics for England and Wales—Year ending 31 March 2007' report. Information is provided for the years ending 31 March, 1997 to 2007.
	Sight test information by strategic health authority (SHA) and by primary care trust (PCT) level for the year ending 31 March 2007 is available in table A3 of Annex D of the report.
	The number of those who receive spectacles for the first time is not collected centrally.
	Table 3 of this report shows the number of vouchers for spectacles or contact lenses paid for by the NHS in England for the years ending 31 March, 1997 to 2007.
	Figure 6a of the Report shows the number of items for repair or replacement, in England, for the years ending 31 March, 1997 to 2007.
	Information on the numbers of vouchers and the numbers of items for repair or replacement by SHA and by PCT for the year ending 31 March 2007 are available in tables B3, C3 and D3 of Annex D of the Report.
	This Report, published on 31 July 2007, is available in the Library and is also available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/gosactivity310307
	The Information Centre for health and social care will aim to publish information at a regional level for earlier years in the 'General Ophthalmic Services: Activity Statistics for England and Wales—Year ending 31 March 2008' report. Once published a copy of the Report will be placed in the Library.
	All the reports have been published by the Information Centre for health and social care.

Family Practitioner Services

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) GPs,  (b) dentists,  (c) optometrists and  (d) pharmacies there were in (i) England and (ii) each English region in each of the last three years; and how many this equated to per 100,000 resident population in each category.

Ann Keen: The number of general practitioners (GPs) in England, each strategic health authority in each of the last three years and how many this equated to per 100,000 resident population in each category, has been placed in the Library.
	The number of national health service dentists and persons per dentist in England, as at 31 March, 1997 to 2006 are available in annex E and F of the "NHS Dental Activity and Workforce Report England: 31 March 2006" report. The information is provided by strategic health authority (SHA) and by primary care trust (PCT). This information is based on the old contractual arrangements which were in place up to and including 31 March 2006.
	This report, published on 23 August 2006 is available in the Library and is also available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/dentistry/nhs-dental-activity-and-workforce-report-england-31-march-2006
	The number of dentists, and number of dentists by population, on open NHS contracts, in England, as at 30 June 2006, 30 September 2006, 31 December 2006, and 31 March 2007 are available in table E1 of annex 3 of the "NHS Dental Statistics for England: 2006-07" report. This information is provided by PCT and by SHA.
	This report, published on 23 August 2007, is available in the Library and is also available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dental0607
	Information on the number of ophthalmic practitioners (OPs) in England is provided in table 1 of the "General Ophthalmic Services: Workforce Statistics for England and Wales, 31 December 2006" report. The information is provided as at 31 December, 1996 to 2006. The information is provided by type of practitioner. This report was published on 31 July 2007 and is available in the Library and is also available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/eye-care/general-ophthalmic-services:-workforce-statistics-for-england-and-wales-year-ending-31-december-2006
	Information on the number of OPs in England as at 31 December 2006 is also provided in annex 3, table 1, of the aforementioned report. This information is provided by type of practitioner and by PCT.
	Information on the number of OPs in England as at 31 December 2005 is provided in table 10, annex A of the "General Ophthalmic Services: Statistical Bulletin — Ophthalmic Statistics for England, 1996-97 to 2005-06" report. This information is provided by PCT.
	This report, published on 24 October 2006, has been placed in the Library and is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/opticians/general-ophthalmic-services:-statistical-bulletin-ophthalmic-statistics-for-england-1996-97-2005-06
	Information on the number of OPs in England as at 31 December 2004 is provided in table 9 of the "General Ophthalmic Services: Consultation tables for England, Wales and Scotland, 2004-05" report. This information is provided by PCT. This table also includes information on the number of OPs per 10,000 of the population.
	This report, published on 30 November 2005, has been placed in the Library and is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/opticians/general-ophthalmic-services:-consultation-tables-nhs-sight-tests-vouchers-workforce-premises-2004-2005
	The following shows data for the number of pharmacies there were in England, each SHA in each of the last three years and how many this equated to per 100,000 resident population in each category.
	
		
			  Community pharmacies in contract with PCTs at 31 March and population by SHA ,  England, 2004-05 
			  SHA by region  Number of community pharmacies( 1)  Population June 2003( 2)  (Thousand)  Pharmacies per million population 
			  England (3)9,742 49,856 195 
			 
			  North East 512 2,539 200 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 212 1,147 181 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 300 1,392 215 
			 
			  North West 1,475 6,837 215 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside 530 2,355 225 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire 403 1,919 209 
			 Greater Manchester 542 2,564 211 
			 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber 969 5,007 193 
			 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire 302 1,638 184 
			 South Yorkshire 250 1,273 196 
			 West Yorkshire 417 2,096 199 
			 
			  East Midlands 749 4,173 180 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland 290 1,531 190 
			 Trent 459 2,642 173 
			 
			  West Midlands 1,063 5,320 200 
			 Birmingham and the Black Country 523 2,273 231 
			 Coventry, Warwickshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire 273 1,550 176 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire 267 1,496 178 
			 
			  East 941 5,476 172 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 315 1,615 195 
			 Essex 282 1,630 173 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 344 2,232 154 
			 
			  London 1,743 7,388 237 
			 North Central London 300 1,220 246 
			 North East London 352 1,531 230 
			 North West London 488 1,815 269 
			 South East London 319 1,512 212 
			 South West London 284 1,310 219 
			 
			  South East 1,395 8,111 172 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 298 1,797 166 
			 Kent and Medway 267 1,600 167 
			 Surrey and Sussex 487 2,559 190 
			 Thames Valley 343 2,155 159 
			 
			  South West 895 5,005 179 
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 377 2,197 172 
			 Dorset and Somerset 217 1,207 178 
			 South West Peninsula 301 1,601 188 
			 (1) Number of pharmacies at 31 March 2005. (2) Population figures for 2003 based on estimates from 2001 data. (3) The total number of pharmacies in England at 31 March 2005 was revised to 9,736 in the 2006 publication, revised SHA figures were not published.  Source: General Pharmaceutical Services in England and Wales 1995-96 to 2004-05. 
		
	
	
		
			  Community pharmacies in contract with PCTs at 31 March and population by SHA, England, 2005-06 
			  SHA by region  Number of community pharmacies  Population June 2003 (Thousand)  Pharmacies per 100,000 population 
			  England 9,872 50,093 20 
			 
			  North East 514 2,545 20 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 210 1,149 18 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 304 1,396 22 
			 
			  North West 1,498 6,860 22 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside 537 2,358 23 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire 405 1,930 21 
			 Greater Manchester 556 2,572 22 
			 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber 996 5,037 20 
			 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire 302 1,650 18 
			 South Yorkshire 261 1,278 20 
			 West Yorkshire 433 2,108 21 
			 
			  East Midlands 759 4,199 18 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland 294 1,541 19 
			 Trent 465 2,658 17 
			 
			  West Midlands 1,080 5,334 20 
			 Birmingham and the Black Country 531 2,275 23 
			 Coventry, Warwickshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire 278 1,559 18 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire 271 1,500 18 
			 
			  East 953 5,505 17 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 319 1,618 20 
			 Essex 285 1,636 17 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 349 2,251 16 
			 
			  London 1,738 7,429 23 
			 North Central London 298 1,228 24 
			 North East London 353 1,531 23 
			 North West London 479 1,834 26 
			 South East London 322 1,514 21 
			 South West London 286 1,321 22 
			 
			  South East 1,418 8,141 17 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 304 1,801 17 
			 Kent and Medway 274 1,610 17 
			 Surrey and Sussex 493 2,566 19 
			 Thames Valley 347 2,164 16 
			 
			  South West 916 5,044 18 
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 389 2,212 18 
			 Dorset and Somerset 222 1,213 18 
			 South West Peninsula 305 1,619 19 
			  Source: General Pharmaceutical Services in England and Wales 2005-06. 
		
	
	
		
			  Community pharmacies in contract with PCT/local health bodies at 31 March, and population by SHA in England, 2006-07 
			  Strategic health authority from 1 October 2006  Number of community pharmacies  Population mid-2006 (Thousand)  Pharmacies per 100,000 population 2006-07 
			 England 10,133 50,763 20 
			 North East 527 2,556 21 
			 North West 1,551 6,887 23 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 1,036 5,140 20 
			 East Midlands 785 4,333 18 
			 West Midlands 1,110 5,367 21 
			 East of England 986 5,607 18 
			 London 1,762 7,512 23 
			 South Central 660 3,995 17 
			 South East Coast 787 4,237 19 
			 South West 929 5,130 18 
			  Source: General Pharmaceutical Services in England and Wales 2006-07.

General Practitioners

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GPs there are per 100,000 population in  (a) England,  (b) the South East of England,  (c) Kent and  (d) Ashford.

Ann Keen: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  General practitioners (GPs) (excluding retainers and registrars)( 1)  per head of population by selected area in England, as at 30 September 2007 
			 All GPs (excluding retainers and registrars)( 1)  All GPs (excluding retainers and registrars)( 1)  headcount per 100,000 population 
			 England   33,364 65.7 
			 Q37 South East Coast  2,700 63.7 
			  5LQ Brighton and Hove City Primary Care Trust (PCT) 167 66.4 
			  5P7 East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT 220 66.6 
			  5QA Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT 438 60.8 
			  5P8 Hastings and Rother PCT 113 64.2 
			  5L3 Medway PCT 130 51.7 
			  5P5 Surrey PCT 718 66.9 
			  5P9 West Kent PCT 384 58.0 
			  5P6 West Sussex PCT 530 68.8 
			 (1) General medical practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars) includes GP providers and GP others.  Note: Ashford is contained within Eastern and Coastal Kent PCT.  Sources: The Information Centre for health and social care General and Personal Medical Services Statistics 2001 Office for National Statistics Population Census.

General Practitioners

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what authorisation is required from a primary care trust in setting up a closed-list GP practice by an employer; whether there are any elements of public funding for such practices; and if he will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: Any employer is free to employ a general practitioner (GP) to provide medical services to their staff. Such an arrangement would be a private one between the employer and the GP. No authorisation is required by a primary care trust and no public funding would be available for such an arrangement. Employees would remain free to register with a national health service GP practice in the usual way.

General Practitioners: Finance

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding each GP practice in Cambridgeshire received in the latest period for which figures are available; how many full-time equivalent doctors were employed by each practice; and how many patients were registered at each practice.

Ben Bradshaw: Information about payments by primary care trusts (PCTs) to individual general practitioner (GP) practices is not collected centrally.
	Information on number of GP doctors and patients is not collected by constituency. Information is collected by national health service organisations. Therefore information has been provided for the number of GP doctors, and number of registered patients within Cambridgeshire PCT, which serves the Cambridgeshire area and is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  All GP partnerships in Cambridgeshire PCT by number of GPs (excluding retainers and registrars) and registered patients, as at 30 September 2007 
			   Practitioner (excluding registrars and retainers) full time equivalent  Number of registered patients 
			 Cambridgeshire PCT 390 598,253 
			 Acorn Surgery 3 6,496 
			 Alconbury Surgery 6 9,172 
			 Almond Road Surgery 4 7,598 
			 Arbury Road Surgery 6 10,862 
			 Bar Hill Health Centre 2 3,436 
			 Bottisham Medical Practice 5 5,401 
			 Bourn Surgery 4 5,810 
			 Bridge Street Medical Centre 6 8,428 
			 Buckden Surgery 5 7,450 
			 Burwell Surgery 5 7,547 
			 Cambridge Access Surgery 1 501 
			 Cedar House Surgery 9 12,757 
			 Charles Hicks Centre 10 13,215 
			 Cherry Hinton Medical Centre 6 10,013 
			 Church Street Health Centre 2 2,582 
			 Clarkson Surgery 6 11,728 
			 Comberton Surgery 5 8,857 
			 Cornerstone Practice 6 9,098 
			 Cornford House Surgery 8 10,296 
			 Cottenham Surgery 3 3,611 
			 Cromwell Place Surgery 5 9,172 
			 Doddington Medical Centre 2 3,262 
			 Dr. RB Hirson's Practice 1 2,110 
			 East Barnwell Health Centre 5 6,753 
			 Eaton Socon Health Centre 8 12,077 
			 Firs House Surgery 6 10,483 
			 George Clare Surgery 8 11,724 
			 Great Staughton Surgery 3 3,114 
			 Haddenham Surgery 6 6,897 
			 Harston Surgery 4 6,468 
			 Huntingdon Road Surgery 8 11,781 
			 Jenner Health Centre 5 8,802 
			 Kimbolton Medical Centre 5 6,131 
			 Lensfield Medical Practice 7 9,603 
			 Linton Health Centre 9 10,990 
			 Mercheford House 3 6,479 
			 Mill Road Surgery 5 5,299 
			 Milton Surgery 3 4,741 
			 Moat House Surgery 5 6,369 
			 Monkfield Medical Practice 4 5,592 
			 Newnham Walk Surgery 5 10,832 
			 North Brink Practice 9 17,569 
			 Northcote House Surgery 1 4,318 
			 Nuffield Road Medical Centre 12 10,810 
			 Old Telephone Exchange 1 2,702 
			 Orchard Surgery, Melbourn 4 6,840 
			 Orchard Surgery, St. Ives 3 3,987 
			 Over Surgery 3 4,387 
			 Papworth Surgery 4 5,381 
			 Parkhall Surgery 2 4,163 
			 Parson Drove Surgery 4 5,763 
			 Petersfield Medical Practice 5 5,883 
			 Priors Field Surgery 3 5,572 
			 Priory Fields Surgery 7 10,609 
			 Queen Edith Medical Practice 4 5,950 
			 Queen Street 10 14,017 
			 Rainbow Surgery 3 3,515 
			 Ramsey Health Centre 6 7,820 
			 Red House Surgery 5 13,297 
			 Riverside Practice 2 6,667 
			 Rosalind Franklin House 3 4,123 
			 Sawston Medical Practice 8 13,225 
			 Shelford Health Centre 5 7,578 
			 Spinney Surgery 7 10,078 
			 St. Mary's Surgery 11 15,574 
			 St. George's medical centre 5 8,702 
			 Staploe Medical Centre 9 15,956 
			 Swavesey Surgery 1 2,857 
			 The Lantern Centre 4 7,157 
			 Trinity Surgery 7 7,791 
			 Trumpington Street Medical Practice 7 10,812 
			 Wellside Surgery 5 6,749 
			 Willingham Medical Practice 4 6,175 
			 Woodlands Surgery 4 6,077 
			 Yaxley Group Practice 8 13,648 
			 York Street Medical Practice 8 8,964 
			  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care General and Personal Medical Services Statistics.

Health Services: Prisons

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescriptions were dispensed to persons held in each prison for  (a) subutex,  (b) methadone and  (c) other opiate replacements in each of the last five years.

Ivan Lewis: The information is not available in the format requested.
	Since April 2007, HM Prison Service has collected information on regular opioid prescriptions to prisoners. From April to December 2007, 9,242 maintenance prescriptions, for methadone and buprenorphine, were initiated.

Health Services: York

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made towards achieving the targets for the National Service Framework for Long-term Conditions in the Vale of York.

Ann Keen: It is for individual primary care trusts (PCTs), including North Yorkshire and York PCT, within the national health service to develop locally the levels of service described in the 'National Service Framework for Long-term (Neurological) Conditions' (the NSF). The NSF has a 10-year implementation programme from its publication in March 2005, with flexibility for organisations to set the pace of change locally to take account of differences in local priorities and needs. A copy of the NSF is available in the Library.
	Information on the progress that has been achieved locally with regard to the implementation of the targets set out in the NSF can be obtained direct from North Yorkshire and York PCT.

Health Services: Yorkshire and Humberside

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the annual number of people who use the Humber Bridge to access medical services provided in  (a) Kingston upon Hull and  (b) the East Riding of Yorkshire; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: This information is not collected centrally.

Hereditary Diseases

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the incidence of birth defects in consanguineous marriages; how many representations he has received about the number of birth defects in consanguineous marriages in the last six months; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: Information on the number of birth defects in consanguineous marriages is not collected centrally. The Department's correspondence unit has no record of any representations on birth defects from consanguineous marriages this year.

HIV Infection: Prisons

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescriptions for anti-retroviral drugs were dispensed to persons detained in each prison in each of the last five years.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not held centrally.

Hospitals: Staff Assaults

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many assaults upon staff at  (a) Sunderland Royal Hospital,  (b) Durham University Hospital and  (c) Hartlepool General Hospital were recorded in each year since 2002; and how many successful prosecutions followed such assaults.

Ann Keen: The Department collected figures on the number of violent incidents in the year 2002-03.
	In April 2003 the national health service security management service (NHS SMS) was created and assumed responsibility for tackling violence against NHS staff. Since 2004-05 the NHS SMS has collected statistics for the number of reported physical assaults and criminal sanctions against individuals who have assaulted NHS staff.
	The numbers of violent incidents, reported physical assaults and criminal sanctions are not available by hospital but by trust. The figures for 2002-03 and for 2004-05 to 2006-07 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   2002-03  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			  NHS trust  Violent incidents  Assaults  Sanctions  Assaults  Sanctions  Assaults  Sanctions 
			 City hospitals and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust 103 124 1 153 2 123 4 
			 County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust 339 97 1 47 4 41 7 
			 North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust 163 61 22 57 1 8 0 
			  Notes: Criminal sanctions include: Cautions and Conditional Cautions; Community Rehabilitation or Punishment Orders; Imprisonment (including suspended sentences); Conditional Discharges; and Fines.

Hospitals: Staff Assaults

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital staff in England were hospitalised as a result of assault while on duty in each of the last three years.

Ann Keen: The information is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Hypertension: Health Services

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to improve patient services for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of care and treatment available to end stage patients;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the efficacy of treatment pathways for pulmonary arterial hypertension;
	(3)  what specialist centres for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension there are; what plans he has to increase the number of such centres; and whether the role of such specialist centres will be continued;
	(4)  what assessment he has made of the treatment provided for pulmonary arterial hypertension patients in England against UK and international benchmarks;
	(5)  what assessment he has made of the impact of  (a) the changing structure of NHS processes and  (b) recent National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommendations on the commissioning of pulmonary arterial hypertension services.

Ann Keen: There are six centres for the treatment of adults with pulmonary hypertension in England. These are at Newcastle, Sheffield, Papworth, Hammersmith, Royal Free and the Brompton hospitals. Several of these centres run outreach clinics at other hospitals.
	From April 2008, pulmonary hypertension services for adults will be commissioned by specialised commissioning groups on behalf of their constituent primary care trusts. The National Specialised Commissioning Group retains a national overview of these commissioning arrangements and considers the appropriate standards, which local centres should achieve, taking National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance into account.
	For the care and treatment of children with pulmonary hypertension, a United Kingdom national network is organised on a 'hub and spoke' principle. The hub is Great Ormond Street hospital for Children and the spokes for follow up care are six centres of paediatric cardiology at Leeds General Infirmary, Bristol Children's hospital, Freeman hospital in Newcastle, Birmingham Children's hospital, Yorkhill hospital in Glasgow and the Royal Hospital for Children in Belfast.
	Pulmonary hypertension services for children are nationally commissioned and performance managed by the National Commissioning Group on behalf on the national health service.
	There are no current plans to change the arrangements for these specialist centres.
	In addition, the national pulmonary hypertension centres of the UK and Ireland have published "A Consensus Statement on the Management of Pulmonary Hypertension in Clinical Practice in the UK and Ireland in March 2008". This is available at:
	www.brit-thoracic.org.uk/ClinicalInformation/PulmonaryHypertension/NationalPulmonaryHypertensionServices/tabid/205/Default.aspx

Ipsos MORI

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what payments his Department has made to Ipsos MORI in the last 24 months; and for what purposes.

Ben Bradshaw: The total paid to Ipsos MORI (Market and Opinion Research International) for surveys by various policy teams of the Department from March 2006 to mid March 2008 is £19,138,755.15.
	It would not be possible to discern the specific details of each survey without incurring disproportionate cost.

Maternity Services

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many deliveries at each NHS maternity unit there were in the latest year for which figures are available, broken down by maternity unit within each NHS trust.

Ann Keen: Information is not available on the number of deliveries by maternity unit. The following table has provisional information for 2006-07 on the number of deliveries in national health service hospitals by NHS provider.
	
		
			  Number of deliveries taking place in NHS hospitals by NHS provider—NHS hospitals, England 2006-07 
			   Deliveries 
			 South Staffordshire PCT 351 
			 Berkshire East PCT 192 
			 Gloucestershire PCT 145 
			 Wiltshire PCT 4,729 
			 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly PCT 401 
			 Devon PCT 486 
			 Isle of Wight NHS PCT 1,192 
			 Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Trust 3,178 
			 Weston Area Health NHS Trust 547 
			 Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 1,325 
			 United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust 5,013 
			 South Devon Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust 2,221 
			 Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 5,746 
			 Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 3,580 
			 Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust 3,227 
			 North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 3,868 
			 The Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust 3,843 
			 Kingston Hospital NHS Trust 4,943 
			 Taunton and Somerset NHS Trust 2,841 
			 West Dorset General Hospitals NHS Trust 1,957 
			 Walsall Hospitals NHS Trust 4,617 
			 Wirral Hospital NHS Trust 3,425 
			 St. Helens and Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust 3,002 
			 The Cardiothoracic Centre—Liverpool NHS Trust * 
			 The Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust 2,753 
			 Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust 1,507 
			 Bedford Hospital NHS Trust 2,984 
			 Ealing Hospital NHS Trust 2,680 
			 Luton and Dunstable Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 4,278 
			 York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 3,242 
			 Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Health Care NHS Trust 3,342 
			 Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust 1,713 
			 Airedale NHS Trust 2,394 
			 The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn NHS Trust 2,186 
			 Poole Hospital NHS Trust 3,993 
			 Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Trust 5,181 
			 Milton Keynes General Hospital NHS Trust 3,232 
			 Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 4,304 
			 Essex Rivers Healthcare NHS Trust 3,489 
			 Frimley Park Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 3,946 
			 The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 474 
			 South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust 1,488 
			 Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust 3,492 
			 Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust 7,994 
			 Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery NHS Trust * 
			 Barking, Havering and Redbridge Hospitals NHS Trust 9,145 
			 Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 2,571 
			 The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust 2,685 
			 Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 2,858 
			 West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 2,015 
			 Queen Elizabeth Hospital NHS Trust 4,047 
			 Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust 3,678 
			 Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust 4,853 
			 Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 3,740 
			 James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 2,079 
			 Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust 3,383 
			 West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust 2,298 
			 Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 5,476 
			 Queen Mary's Sidcup NHS Trust 2,774 
			 Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust 2,939 
			 Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust 5,038 
			 Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 6,530 
			 Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust 5,188 
			 Royal Berkshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 5,336 
			 Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust 6,382 
			 The Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust 3,424 
			 St Mary's NHS Trust 4,390 
			 Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust 4,713 
			 St. George's Healthcare NHS Trust 4,851 
			 South Warwickshire General Hospitals NHS Trust 2,516 
			 Mid Staffordshire General Hospitals NHS Trust 2,377 
			 University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust 5,522 
			 Burton Hospitals NHS Trust 3,160 
			 Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 4,398 
			 East Cheshire NHS Trust 1,988 
			 Countess Of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 3,297 
			 King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 4,910 
			 Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 2,668 
			 Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust 4,313 
			 University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS 5,160 
			 The Whittington Hospital NHS Trust 3,489 
			 The Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust 3,579 
			 City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust 3,430 
			 Hereford Hospitals NHS Trust 1,795 
			 George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust 2,536 
			 Birmingham Women's Health Care NHS Trust 6,761 
			 Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Trust 5,433 
			 University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust 2,065 
			 Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust 2,844 
			 Trafford Healthcare NHS Trust 1,377 
			 Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust 4,097 
			 Tameside and Glossop Acute Services NHS Trust 2,625 
			 Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust 2,999 
			 Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust 3,724 
			 Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust 2,659 
			 Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust 2,985 
			 Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Trust 4,193 
			 Newham University Hospital NHS Trust 5,825 
			 Barts and The London NHS Trust 4,150 
			 North Cumbria Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 2,990 
			 Kettering General Hospital NHS Trust 3,829 
			 Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust 4,130 
			 Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust 2,249 
			 Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 5,022 
			 Medway NHS Trust 4,304 
			 Worthing and Southlands Hospitals NHS Trust 2,506 
			 Royal West Sussex NHS Trust 2,509 
			 Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital NHS Trust * 
			 Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust 3,476 
			 Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 6,004 
			 Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust 4,783 
			 Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust 2,334 
			 The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust 3,228 
			 Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 5,679 
			 Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust 10,486 
			 Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust 1,764 
			 Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust 8,786 
			 Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust 2,793 
			 University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 5,567 
			 The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 5,494 
			 Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 5,681 
			 Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust 3,730 
			 Derby Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 5,304 
			 Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust 8,908 
			 Ashford and St. Peter's Hospitals NHS Trust 3,905 
			 Surrey And Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust 4,062 
			 South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust 5,025 
			 University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust 3,340 
			 North West London Hospitals NHS Trust 4,791 
			 North Bristol NHS Trust 5,279 
			 Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust 6,887 
			 Epsom and St. Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust 4,843 
			 East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust 6,055 
			 North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust 3,727 
			 Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust 3,022 
			 Central Manchester and Manchester Children's University Hospital NHS Trust 4,996 
			 Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 10,366 
			 Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 5,384 
			 United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust 5,294 
			 University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust 9,550 
			 Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust 4,979 
			 West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust 5,423 
			 East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust 6,084 
			 Stockport NHS Foundation Trust 3,514 
			 Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust 5,611 
			 North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust 3,051 
			 Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust 5,441 
			 Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust 10,105 
			 East Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust 3,836 
			 Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 6,189 
			 Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust 5,151 
			 Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust 5,925 
			 Blackpool, Fylde And Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust 6,226 
			 Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 4,595 
			 County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust 5,729 
			 Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust 5,474 
			 East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust 6,222 
			 Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust 4,796 
			 Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Trust * 
			 Total 629,207 
			  Note: Due to reasons of confidentiality, figures between 1 and 5 have been suppressed and replaced with *. Where it was possible to identify numbers from the total due to a single suppressed number in a row or column, an additional smallest number have been suppressed in order to protect patient confidentiality.  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for health and social care

Maternity Services

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of pregnant women did not seek maternity care until they were five months or more pregnant in each of the last five financial years for which figures are available, broken down by primary care trust.

Ann Keen: Information is not available in the format requested.
	However in our publication, 'Maternity Matters: Choice, Access and Continuity of Care in a Safe Service', we estimated that around 16 per cent. of all pregnant women, including many under 18 years of age, delay seeking maternity care until they are five months or more pregnant. A copy of the document is available in the Library.

Members: Correspondence

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his Answer of Monday 28 January 2008,  Official Report, column 110W, on Members: correspondence, when he expects to substantively respond to the letter from the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham, dated 17 July 2007, to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Care Services requesting a meeting to discuss the charging regime for multiple sclerosis treatment centres.

Ben Bradshaw: A reply was issued to the hon. Member on 4 February 2008.

Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust: Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2007,  Official Report, column 724W, on Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust: finance, following the publication of the NHS Operating Framework for 2008-09, if he will place a copy of the report on the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust in the Library.

Ann Keen: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 7 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1472W.

NHS: Consultants

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many finished consultant episodes there were at  (a) Gloucestershire Royal Hospital and  (b) Cheltenham General Hospital in each year since 1992.

Ben Bradshaw: Information is not held in the format requested. Information is collected about finished consultant episodes (FCEs) at national health service trust level, rather than individual hospital level. Gloucestershire Royal hospital and Cheltenham general hospital are part of Gloucestershire hospitals NHS foundation trust.
	The following table shows numbers of FCEs at Gloucestershire hospitals NHS foundation trust for 2002-03 to 2006-07. Prior to 2002-03, there were a number of complex trust mergers, meaning that the data are too inconsistent to use.
	
		
			 FCEs at Gloucestershire hospitals NHS foundation trust for 2002-03 to 2006-07, NHS hospitals in England and activity performed in the independent sector in England commissioned by English NHS 
			  Year (of end of period of care in patient's hospital stay)  FCEs 
			 2006-07 160,627 
			 2005-06 158,911 
			 2004-05 146,768 
			 2003-04 140,017 
			 2002-03 137,570 
			  Notes: 1. A FCE is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. The figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year. 2. Assessing growth through time. HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. During the years that these records have been collected by the NHS there have been ongoing improvements in quality and coverage. These improvements in information submitted by the NHS have been particularly marked in the earlier years and need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. Changes in NHS practice also need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. For example, a number of procedures may now be undertaken in out-patient settings and may no longer be accounted in the HES data. This may account for any reductions in activity over time. 3. Data Quality. HES are compiled from data sent by over 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts in England. The Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. 4. Ungrossed Data. Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for health and social care.

NHS: Staff Assaults

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what  (a) discussions he has had and  (b) representations he has received on streamlining the IRI form to ensure all NHS employees are able to document all incidents in hospitals.

Ann Keen: The Department has had no discussions, and is unaware of receiving any representations, about streamlining the IRI form, the name many national health service organisations give to their locally produced incident report form. NHS staff and service providers are also encouraged to share these reports of patient safety incidents with the National Patient Safety Agency using the National Reporting and Learning System.

NHS: Drugs

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the drugs available on the national health service.

Dawn Primarolo: General practitioners are able to prescribe any licensed medicine on the national health service unless it is listed in schedules 1 or 2 of the National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) (Prescription of Drugs etc.) Regulations 2004.
	Hospital clinicians are not affected by these statutory restrictions. They can prescribe any medicine, provided their local primary care trust agrees to its supply at NHS expense.

NHS: Registration

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which 10 constituencies have the lowest density of NHS registration by UK nationals.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department does not hold this information centrally.
	The national health service is intended first and foremost for the benefit of people living in the United Kingdom. Free NHS treatment is based on residence in the UK, not on nationality, the payment of UK taxes or national insurance contributions.

Occupational Health: Cardiovascular System

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations his Department has received on heart-health testing for employees in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The Prime Minister announced on 7 January that the Department would bring forward proposals for a risk assessment programme within the national health service to assess the population for the risk of vascular diseases. Heart health testing is not currently available in the work place, although private occupational health providers can buy this in for their employees. We are not aware of any representations on this subject in the last 12 months.

Organs: Donors

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many organ donors were registered in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) England in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: The information requested is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Number joining the National Health Service Organ Donor Register from Jarrow, South Tyneside, North East England and all England, 1997-2007, by year 
			   1997  1998-2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  Total 
			 Jarrow (1) 733 864 1,009 859 789 999 1,184 1,203 1,038 10,406 
			 South Tyneside (2) 1,452 1,856 2,156 1,785 1,608 2,095 2,633 2,597 2,188 22,082 
			 North East England (3) 32,789 38,806 47,845 50,490 42,790 41,210 47,139 49,593 43,301 471,575 
			 All England 690,275 807,111 1,021,806 947,807 756,195 866,973 924,039 1,004,416 858,467 9,491,311 
			 (1) Parliamentary constituency. (2 )Council area. (3 )Postcodes DH, DL, NE, SR, TS, TD15 For administrative reasons, the data for 1998-2000 is not available for each year separately so the yearly average is given. 
		
	
	
		
			  Deceased organ donors from hospitals in South Tyneside, North East England and all England, 1997-2007 by year 
			  Donating hospital  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  Total 
			 South Tyneside Dist. Gen. Hosp. 1 1 — 2 — 2 1 2 — — 1 10 
			 North East England Hospitals (1) 39 45 51 58 49 34 38 39 30 39 41 463 
			 Hospitals in all England 689 621 617 653 640 652 598 682 633 647 667 7,099 
			 (1) donating hospitals in: Darlington, Durham, Bishop Auckland, Hexham, Ashington, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Shields, South Shields and Sunderland.  Note:  There are no donating hospitals (i.e. with ICU/HDU) in the Jarrow constituency

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescription penalty notices were issued in each financial year since 1997-98 for which figures are available; and how much was collected each year in penalty charges.

Ann Keen: From August 2001 to March 2003, the Prescription Pricing Authority undertook prescription penalty charge functions as per the provisions of the Health Act 1999.
	From April 2003 to March 2005, the national health service Counter Fraud and Security Management Service (CFSMS) undertook these functions.
	From April 2005, these functions were devolved to primary care trusts with the CFSMS providing a central support process to facilitate verification checks. Detailed information on recoveries since April 2005 is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The number of penalties and the amounts recovered are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Penalties issued  Original prescription charge (£)  Penalties and surcharges (£) 
			 August 2001 to March 2005 160,000 550,000 2,400,000 
			 2005-06 21,837 — — 
			 2006-07 25,029 — — 
		
	
	Data for the period August 2001 to March 2005 is not available by year. The figures given are recovery figures for the original prescription charge and the associated penalties and surcharges.

Prostate Cancer: Screening

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prostate screenings took place in  (a) Jarrow constituency,  (b) South Tyneside,  (c) the North East and  (d) England in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: The national health service does not operate a prostate cancer screening programme. There is currently insufficient evidence from any country in the world to show that screening would reduce deaths from prostate cancer. The Government are committed to introducing a national screening programme for prostate cancer if and when screening and treatment techniques are sufficiently well developed. The United Kingdom National Screening Committee keeps screening for prostate cancer under review.
	The prostate cancer risk management programme was established in 2002 to ensure that men considering a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test are given information concerning the benefits, limitations and risks associated with having a test. Figures on the number of PSA tests taken as a result of the programme are not collected centrally.

Psychiatry: Regulation

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has to introduce a regime to regulate psychotherapists and counsellors.

Ben Bradshaw: In the White Paper, Trust, Assurance, Safety—The Regulation of Health Professionals in the 21st Century, the Government identified psychotherapists and counsellors as a priority for statutory regulation. Before this can happen, these groups need to have agreed standards of training and practice and have put in place an interim voluntary system of regulation, which can form the basis of a statutory system.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases: Prisons

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of sexually transmitted infections were recorded in each prison in each of the last five years, broken down by infection.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not routinely collected.
	The Department issued new key performance indicators (KPIs) for prison health services in October 2007. These include a KPI for sexual health in prisons.
	Under this, prisons must ensure that prisoners are aware of the means of accessing condoms in prisons; have access to social and life skills modules on sex and relationship education; have access to a genito-urinary clinic in prison; and have access to a Chlamydia screening programme.

Skin: Diseases

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research is being  (a) undertaken and  (b) funded by his Department on the likely causes of Hidradenitis Suppurativa.

Ian Pearson: I have been asked to reply.
	The Medical Research Council is one of the main agencies through which the Government support medical and clinical research. The MRC is not currently funding any research specifically on Hidradenitis Suppurativa, but does fund a broad range of research looking at understanding inflammation and inflammatory diseases which may benefit the condition in the future. While the MRC does not earmark funds for particular topics, research proposals in all areas are welcome.

Waiting Lists: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time for  (a) in patient treatment and  (b) day surgery was for each clinical speciality at York NHS Hospital in each year since 1997.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested has been set out in the following tables:
	
		
			  Median waiting times in weeks—York hospitals NHS Trust by specialty 
			   Period ending  March 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002 
			  Specialty  In - patient  Day case  In - patient  Day case  In - patient  Day case  In - patient  Day case  In - patient  Day case  In - patient  Day case 
			 General surgery 12.2 14.2 20.4 20.6 11.7 11.6 16.2 12.6 15.6 14.4 17.9 16.5 
			 Urology 9.2 8.3 12.4 7.9 10.9 8.8 11.1 10.3 9.5 10.0 9.0 11.2 
			 Trauma and Orthopaedics 17.5 15.4 16.7 18.0 20.2 12.1 20.1 17.4 20.9 17.7 21.0 17.6 
			 Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) 11.9 10.0 15.6 9.7 16.7 10.4 16.9 9.1 19.0 6.6 21.8 7.8 
			 Ophthalmology 27.8 13.9 24.0 25.5 14.4 19.3 13.7 19.0 18.8 23.9 11.8 21.7 
			 Oral surgery 13.3 17.0 13.0 24.5 9.1 15.0 10.5 12.4 8.2 8.6 9.5 7.2 
			 Anaesthetics — 7.7 — 7.0 — 6.9 — 6.7 — 7.5 — 7.1 
			 General medicine 6.7 7.8 — 8.4 — 8.4 — — — — — — 
			 Gynaecology 10.4 11.1 11.9 11.2 12.6 16.1 17.3 12.2 10.4 12.3 14.7 13.5 
			 All specialties 12.9 11.6 16.5 15.6 15.4 12.4 17.0 14.0 16.6 15.0 18.9 14.8 
		
	
	
		
			   Period ending March  
			   2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  September 2007 
			  Specialty  In - patient  Day case  In - patient  Day case  In - patient  Day case  In - patient  Day case  In - patient  Day case  In - patient  Day case 
			 General surgery 11.9 13.8 13.5 13.4 10.8 10.3 8.3 11.3 4.1 7.4 4.1 5.2 
			 Urology 10.3 11.1 8.1 10.2 6.5 10.7 5.3 10.6 5.6 5.7 4.9 6.5 
			 Trauma and Orthopaedics 19.8 17.1 12.3 13.6 12.8 11.4 10.5 9.9 8.2 10.2 4.8 4.7 
			 ENT 18.9 7.5 10.8 7.0 7.2 9.5 9.1 7.0 4.2 9.4 — 7.9 
			 Ophthalmology 14.6 17.8 11.3 9.8 5.2 7.9 10.5 5.8 12.0 4.5 — 7.0 
			 Oral surgery 9.6 9.5 8.3 12.1 — 12.3 6.1 9.0 6.5 7.8 6.0 5.7 
			 Anaesthetics — 6.9 — 7.0 — 4.1 — 5.1 — 6.5 — 6.3 
			 General medicine — — 9.4 13.9 — 10.7 — 4.7 — 6.4 — 4.8 
			 Gynaecology 15.6 15.4 14.5 13.5 15.5 13.1 10.5 8.5 8.3 6.2 6.5 7.1 
			 All specialties 15.8 13.7 11.8 11.7 10.9 9.7 9.0 8.3 6.5 6.7 4.8 6.3 
			  Notes: 1. The figures show the median waiting times for patients waiting for admission at the end of each period. 2. These are calculated from aggregate data, rather than patient level data, and therefore are only estimates of the position on average waits. 3. Specialties where the total number waiting is less than 20 have been excluded as medians calculated from these figures would be prone to fluctuation due to small numbers. This is why there are some gaps of information. 4. Figures by specialty not collected after September 2007.  Source: Department of Health KH07

Westminster Primary Care Trust: General Practitioners

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether there are any closed-list GP practices within Westminster Primary Care Trust.

Ben Bradshaw: Data about general practitioner (GP) practices that have lists closed for the registration of new patients are collected quarterly through the Primary Care Access Survey, and the latest available data are for November 2007 to January 2008. For Westminster Primary Care Trust (PCT), these data showed two practices with closed lists, which is 4 per cent. of the PCTs GP practices. In England, 2 per cent. of GP practices reported that they were operating closed lists.

JUSTICE

Antisocial Behaviour: Essex

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) cautions and  (b) fines were imposed for (i) vandalism, (ii) graffiti, (iii) litter and (iv) anti-social behaviour in each district and unitary council area in Essex in each of the last eight quarters for which records are available.

Maria Eagle: The number of persons given cautions, and those found guilty who were given fines for vandalism, graffiti, litter and antisocial behaviour in Essex for the years 2005 and 2006 can be viewed in tables 1 and 2.
	Apart from criminal damage (which includes minor acts of vandalism and graffiti among other things) and littering, penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) can be issued for a range of offences that might be characterised as antisocial behaviour including behaviour likely to cause fear, alarm and distress (section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986). The total number of PNDs issued in Essex in 2005 and 2006 is 4,454 (for 2005) and 4,461 (in 2006) a breakdown of those issued by offence is provided in table 3.
	Information held by the Ministry of Justice cannot identify the district or unitary council area these offences were committed in.
	Court proceedings data for 2007 will be available in the autumn of 2008. Fixed Penalty Notices can be issued by local authorities for graffiti and littering offences. These data are collected annually by the Department for the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs. There were no fixed penalty notices issued for graffiti offences in Essex between April 2005 and March 2007. Information on fixed penalty notices issued for littering offences in each local authority in Essex are contained in table 4.
	Full data, including for other offences related to antisocial activity such as fly-posting and certain noise and waste-related offences, are published on-line at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/localenv/legislation/fpn/index.htm
	
		
			  Number of offenders cautioned for antisocial behaviour offences for which a PND may be issued in Essex police force area, by  Qtr , for the years 2005 and 2006( 1, 2, 3) 
			2005  2006 
			  Statute  Offence description  Qtr  1  Qtr  2  Qtr  3  Qtr  4  Qtr  1  Qtr  2  Qtr  3  Qtr  4 
			   
			 Theft Act 1968 Sec 1 Stealing from shops and stalls (shoplifting(4)) 243 283 373 378 447 488 485 649 
			 Various Other criminal damage(5) 1 — — — — — — — 
			 Explosives Act 1875, Sec 80 Throwing, casting or throwing any fireworks in or into any highway, street, etc public place. — — — — — — — — 
			 Public Order Act 1986 Sec 5. Harassment, alarm or distress. 33 56 50 52 70 78 8 11 
			 Police Reform Act 2002 Sch.-4 Para. 5 (Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 S 12). Contravene a community support officers' requirement not to consume liquor. Penalty offence under S.I Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 -alcohol consumption in designated public places. — — — — — — — — 
			 Criminal Justice Act 1967 Sec. 91. Any person who in any public place is guilty, while drunk, of disorderly behaviour. 5 1 3 1 2 4 — — 
			 Licensing (Occasional Permissions) Act 1983 Schedule (Sec 3) para 4(1). Licensing Act 1964 Sec 169(1). Holder or occasional permission of the agent knowingly selling to, knowingly allow consumption by or allowing any person to sell, intoxicating liquor to a person under 18. Selling etc intoxicating liquor to person under 18 for consumption on the premises. — — — — — — — — 
			 Fire Services Act 1947 Sec 31. False alarms of fire. — — — — — — — — 
			 Environmental Protection Act 1990 Sec. 87. Depositing litter. 1 — — — — — — — 
			 British Transport Commission Act 1949 S.55,56. Railway Offences: Offences against Private Acts relating to Railways (other than 169,1-6). Trespass, throwing stones. — — — — — — — — 
			 Criminal Law Act 1967 Sec 5(2). Causing wasteful employment of the police etc. 1 1 1 2 2 1 — — 
			 Communications Act 2003 S.127 Improper use of public electronic communications network 1 — — 2 — — — — 
			   285 341 427 435 522 571 493 660 
			 (1) Cautions data are provided on the principal offence basis, PND data are a count of PNDs issued. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Table covers all PND offences as outlined in table 3, although where no cautions were issued for an offence figures have been omitted from the table. 4 A PND may be issued to an offenders an alternative to a caution or prosecution only where the value of the item stolen is less than £200. (5) Includes offences of vandalism and graffiti but is not exclusive to those offences.  Source: Court proceedings database—Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice. 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of  defendants found guilty at all courts for which a fine may be issued for  antisocial behaviour offences  in Essex police force area,  by  Qtr , for the years 2005 and 2006( 1, 2,) 
			2005  2006 
			  Statute  Offence description  Qtr  1  Qtr  2  Qtr  3  Qtr  4  Qtr  1  Qtr  2  Qtr  3  Qtr  4 
			 Theft Act 1968 Sec 1 Stealing from shops and stalls (shoplifting) 88 91 100 91 77 90 89 84 
			 Various Other criminal damage(3) — — — — — — — — 
			 Explosives Act 1875, Sec 80 Throwing, casting or throwing any fireworks in or into any highway, street, etc public place. — — — — — — — — 
			 Public Order Act 1986 Sec 5. Harassment, alarm or distress. 77 73 85 61 70 77 84 88 
			 Police Reform Act 2002 Sch.-4 Para. 5 (Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 S 12). Contravene a community support officers' requirement not to consume liquor. Penalty offence under S.I Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 -alcohol consumption in designated public places. — — 2 1 3 1 2 — 
			 Criminal Justice Act 1967 Sec. 91. Any person who in any public place is guilty, while drunk, of disorderly behaviour. 33 28 28 42 44 49 60 39 
			 Licensing (Occasional Permissions) Act 1983 Schedule (Sec 3) para 4(1). Licensing Act 1964 Sec 169(1). Holder or occasional permission of the agent knowingly selling to, knowingly allow consumption by or allowing any person to sell, intoxicating liquor to a person under 18. Selling etc intoxicating liquor to person under 18 for consumption on the premises. 2 1 1 3 6 2 — — 
			 Fire Services Act 1947 Sec 31. False alarms of fire. — — — — — — — — 
			 Environmental Protection Act 1990 Sec. 87. Depositing litter. 7 3 4 2 1 4 2 4 
			 British Transport Commission Act 1949 S.55,56. Railway Offences: Offences against Private Acts relating to Railways (other than 169,1-6). Trespass, throwing stones. 3 — — 1 1 5 3 3 
			 Criminal Law Act 1967 Sec 5(2). Causing wasteful employment of the police etc. — — — — — — 2 — 
			 Communications Act 2003 S.127 Improper use of public electronic communications network — — 1 1 2 — — 1 
			   210 196 221 202 204 228 242 219 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts, police forces, and other agencies. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3 )Includes offences of vandalism and graffiti but is not exclusive to those offences.  Source: Court proceedings database—Office for Criminal justice Reform, Ministry of Justice. 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of penalty notices for disorder issued in Essex police force area, by offence and quarter, 2005 and 2006( 1,2) 
			   2005  2006 
			  Offence description  Qtr 1  Qtr 2  Qtr 3  Qtr 4  Qtr 1  Qtr 2  Qtr 3  Qtr 4 
			 Wasting police time 11 10 18 20 17 18 17 16 
			 Misuse of public telecommunications system 4 1 3 7 4 7 8 7 
			 Giving false alarm to fire and rescue authority 2 — — — — — — — 
			 Causing Harassment, alarm or distress 603 623 581 548 440 527 516 548 
			 Throwing fireworks 3 1 2 9 2 4 — 12 
			 Drunk and disorderly 129 116 144 245 240 246 192 193 
			 Selling alcohol to under 18 (now DA18) 11 7 67 35 8 17 11 58 
			 Purchasing alcohol for under 18 (now DA19) — — 1 1 — — 4 2 
			 Purchasing alcohol for under 18 for cons on premises, — 1 — — — — 1 — 
			 Delivery of alcohol to person under 18 or allowing such delivery 2 11 1 2 2 — 1 — 
			 Criminal Damage (under 500)(3) 101 115 105 84 88 73 92 105 
			 Theft (retail under 200) 166 194 154 186 259 207 195 235 
			 Breach of fireworks curfew — — — — — — 1 1 
			 Possession of category 4 firework — — — — — — — l 
			 Possession by a person under 18 of adult firework — — — 1 — — — 3 
			 Sale of alcohol to drunken person — — — — — — — — 
			 Supply of alcohol to person under 18 — — — — — — — — 
			 Trespass on a railway 21 — 7 7 — 1 3 4 
			 Throwing stones at a train/railway 3 — — — — — 1 — 
			 Drunk in a highway 6 13 14 5 12 8 9 5 
			 Consumption of alcohol in public place 5  3 10   4 1 
			 Depositing and leaving litter 9 15 5 4 6 12 8 6 
			 Consumption of alcohol my under 18 on licensed premises — — — 1 — — 1 1 
			 Buying or Attempting to buy alcohol for person under 18 — — — 1 — — 1 — 
			 Total 1,076 1,107 1, r!05 1,166 1,078 1,120 1,065 1,198 
			 "—" = nil (1) PND data are a count of PNDs issued. (2 )Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Includes offences of vandalism and graffiti cut is not exclusive to those offences.  Source: Court proceedings database—Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice 
		
	
	
		
			  Fixed penalty notices for littering 
			  Local authority  Fixed penalties issued  Cases being prosecuted 
			  Reporting period April 2005 to March 2006 
			 Basildon DC 26 5 
			 Braintree DC 77 4 
			 Brentwood BC 0 0 
			 Castle Point DC 0 0 
			 Chelmsford BC 46 0 
			 Colchester BC 21 3 
			 Epping Forest DC 0 0 
			 Harlow DC 80 3 
			 Maldon DC 18 0 
			 Rochford DC 0 0 
			 Southend-on-Sea BC 169 46 
			 Tendring DC 67 1 
			 Thurrock BC 32 12 
			 Uttlesford DC 0 0 
			
			  Reporting period April 2006 to March 2007 
			 Basildon DC 19 1 
			 Braintree DC 35 0 
			 Brentwood BC — — 
			 Castle Point DC 7 0 
			 Chelmsford BC 25 2 
			 Colchester BC 105 9 
			 Epping Forest DC — — 
			 Harlow DC 98 0 
			 Maldon DC 2 0 
			 Rochford DC 0 0 
			 Southend-on-Sea BC 82 0 
			 Tendring DC 72 0 
			 Thurrock BC 150 2 
			 Uttlesford DC 0 0 
			  Source: DEFRA

Departmental Alcoholic Drinks

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice at how many events held by his Department  (a) wine and  (b) Fairtrade wine were served in the last three years; and what assessment his Department has made of the merits of serving Fairtrade wine at future events.

Maria Eagle: My Department does not hold any records of how many events wine or Fairtrade wine has been served in the last three years and the information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Where catering services are through commercial arrangements, we will continue to encourage suppliers to support and make use of Fairtrade products.

Departmental Internet

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 19 February 2008,  Official Report, column 599W, on the departmental intranet, whether his Department's IT system is able to provide a record of Wikipedia entries  (a) created and  (b) amended from within his Department.

Maria Eagle: The Ministry of Justice's IT systems do not provide a record of this information, as IP addresses for Wikipedia users within the Department and its agencies cannot be linked to individuals. It should be noted that any input to such websites would be done in accordance with the civil service code, which states that civil servants should: "use resources only for the authorised public purposes for which they are provided" and "make sure public money and other resources are used properly and efficiently".

Departmental Training

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff in his Department and its agencies have attended the  (a) Influencing with Integrity,  (b) Emotional Intelligence,  (c) Counselling Skills for the Workplace,  (d) Managing your Confidence,  (e) Balancing Work/Life Realities and  (f) Working Assertively training course run by the National School of Government in the last 12 months for which information is available; and at what cost.

Maria Eagle: The information requested is in the following table.
	
		
			   Ministry of Justice  HM Courts Service  HM Prison Service 
			  AAW
			 Number — — 1 
			 Charged (£) — — 726.00 
			 
			  AWLB
			 Number — — — 
			 Charged (£) — — — 
			 
			  CONF
			 Number — — — 
			 Charged (£) — — — 
			 
			  COUN
			 Number — — — 
			 Charged (£) — — — 
			 
			  IIS
			 Number — 1 — 
			 Charged (£) — 726.00 — 
			 
			  PEP3
			 Number — — — 
			 Charged (£) — — — 
			  Key: AAW = Working Assertively AWLB = Balancing Work/Life Realities CONF = Managing your Confidence COUN = Counselling Skills for the Workplace IIS = Influencing with Integrity PEPS = Emotional Intelligence

Drugs: Misuse

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average sentence was for persons sentenced to immediate custody for offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 section 4(3) and 5(3), in each of the last five years.

Jack Straw: The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Person sentenced( 1 ) to immediate custody for offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 section 4(3) and 5(3), and the average sentence length( 2) , for each of the last five years 
			Sentenced  Sentence to immediate custody  Custody rate (%)  Average sentence length (months)( 2) 
			 2002 Section 4(3) 2,655 2,077 78 43.7 
			  Section 5(3) 3,017 2,233 74 34.3 
			 2003 Section 4(3) 2,905 2,248 77 43.2 
			  Section 5(3) 3,378 2,444 72 36.1 
			 2004 Section 4(3) 3,101 2,348 76 40.6 
			  Section 5(3) 3,880 2,645 68 37.4 
			 2005 Section 4(3) 3,274 2,085 64 36.6 
			  Section 5(3) 4,810 2,944 61 33.5 
			 2006 Section 4(3) 2,425 2,039 84 38.2 
			  Section 5(3) 4,925 2,930 59 31.8 
			 (1) Principal offence basis (2) Excludes life sentences PQ(RN)133-08 RDS NOMS 28 March 2008 Misuse of drugs Act (1971) S.4(3) Supplying or offering to supply a controlled drug (or being concerned in) Class 'A' Drug, Class 'B' Drug, Class 'C' Drug, class unspecified Misuse of drugs Act (1971) S.5(3) Having possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply, Class 'A' Drug, Class 'B' Drug, Class 'C' Drug, class unspecified

Financial Reporting Orders

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2008,  Official Report, column 156W, on financial reporting orders, for what reason the Serious Organised Crime Agency Annual Report for 2006-07 states that 12 such orders are in place.

Jack Straw: The SOCA annual report 2006-07 gave the number of orders, which the Agency had successfully obtained in that period. The information in my reply of 10 March 2008,  Official Report, column 756W, was prepared looking only at principal sentencing disposals, in line with standard practice. As the financial order is not a "primary disposal" of the courts, this led to the discrepancy in my earlier reply, and the impression—which I regret—that none had been issued when 12 had. I continue to be concerned about the reliability of court data and have asked for serious work to be undertaken to make it more informative.

HM Courts Service: Security

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  at how many courts the provision of security, guarding and surveillance services have been outsourced to private contractors;
	(2)  how many staff the Courts Service employs directly or via contractors for security and guarding duties.

Maria Eagle: Contracted security guarding services are provided to 609 courts.
	The majority of security guarding services in Her Majesty's Courts Service are contracted out. Contractors currently provide 1,361 guards in courts. A further 50 staff are employed directly by HMCS.

House of Lords: Reform

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will publish the minutes of the cross-party working group on Lords reform.

Jack Straw: I refer my right hon. Friend to my written answer given on 18 February 2008,  Official Report, column 187W to the hon. Member for South Staffordshire (Sir Patrick Cormack).

Judges: Education

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many judges were educated at  (a) private and  (b) comprehensive schools.

Jack Straw: This information is not kept by either the Ministry of Justice or the Judicial Offices for England and Wales.

Members: Correspondence

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to reply to the letter of 11 February 2008 from Mr. C. M. Goodchild of Lymington on a divorce case.

Bridget Prentice: We do not appear to have received Mr. Goodchild's letter. A copy has been obtained and a reply will be sent to him as soon as possible.

National Offender Management Service

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the contribution of the National Offender Management Service to public safety since its inception.

Maria Eagle: Since its inception, the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has developed and disseminated a range of operational guidance, practice and advice to assist frontline staff in managing offenders under statutory supervision in the community, including offenders managed under the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA). The guidance to the MAPPA responsible authorities—the police, prison and probation services—assists them in the effective supervision of offenders convicted of the most serious sexual and violent offenders.
	In addition, the roll-out of the offender management model has brought the benefits of end to end offender management to bear on the supervision of the most high risk offenders. And the introduction of ViSOR into prisons and probation has provided offender managers with significant new sources of information on which to assess and manage sexual and violent offenders.

Offenders: Housing

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the addresses are of the residential institutions run by ClearSprings on behalf of the National Offender Management Service for offenders and ex-offenders.

David Hanson: ClearSprings do not provide hostels or institutions. They provide homes in normal residential accommodation for people who have been bailed by the Courts or released from prison on home detention curfew. It is not our practice to disclose the private addresses of defendants or offenders.

Offenders: Rehabilitation

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how much was spent on providing behavioural programmes for offenders  (a) in custody and  (b) serving community sentences in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what funding has been allocated for the provision of behavioural programmes for offenders  (a) in custody and  (b) serving community sentences for 2008-09, broken down by funding source; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The funding for the delivery of accredited offending behaviour programmes in custody is part of establishment baselines, therefore it is not possible to accurately disaggregate the cost of this work. The Prison Service is currently working on developing a costing process to provide more accurate costs for regime activities and interventions.
	Additional funding was provided by the Government to expand the delivery of accredited offending behaviour programmes in custody as shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Additional funding source 
			   Comprehensive spending review  Crime reduction programme  Spending review 2000 
			 1999-2000 7.3 0.7 — 
			 2000-01 8.4 1.1 — 
			 2001-02 8.9 1.5 — 
			 2002-03 8.9 — 3.6 
			 2003-04 8.9 — 11.6 
		
	
	Based on an estimated average cost per programme completion and the number of completions in 2006-07, we estimate that the cost of delivering accredited offending behaviour programmes in 2006-07 to be approximately £25 million. A similar amount will be spent in 2007-08.
	In addition, governors and area managers may allocate funds from their budgets to support local initiatives or partnerships with outside organisations or the voluntary sector to address particular needs. This information is not recorded centrally.
	Probation Boards fund the cost of providing behavioural programmes for offenders in the community through their grant as they see fit to meet their statutory duties. Data is only available on the budgeted cost of delivering programmes to offenders under probation supervision, which includes offenders on community sentences and on licence in the community following a custodial sentence. Probation Boards' budgeted spend on behavioural programmes is as follows:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2005-06 77 
			 2006-07 85 
			 2007-08 86.5 
		
	
	The requested information relating to expenditure for years leading up to 2005 is not recorded centrally.

Prisoners

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the prison population was in each of the last 12 months in  (a) all prisons and  (b) open prisons.

David Hanson: The following table gives the numbers of prisoners held in all open prisons in England and Wales at the end of each month since February 2007.
	
		
			   2007  2008 
			   Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sept  Oct  Nov  Dec  Jan 
			  Open prisons 
			 Askham Grange 100 109 99 98 109 108 101 107 109 110 112 96 
			 East Sutton Park 97 95 100 99 100 98 97 90 90 97 89 91 
			 Ford 413 438 457 476 464 454 472 460 468 471 494 494 
			 Hewell Grange 172 182 181 173 167 170 165 143 156 186 177 176 
			 Hollesley Bay 292 292 305 311 298 292 317 324 322 325 314 325 
			 Kirkham 508 513 508 546 514 530 540 522 522 506 485 448 
			 Leyhill 420 399 432 400 411 393 393 399 394 402 348 381 
			 Moorland Open 222 219 222 229 242 236 239 241 242 246 224 248 
			 North Sea Camp 253 274 303 273 272 258 261 247 263 276 295 281 
			 Spring Hill 307 333 335 323 322 309 321 328 324 322 326 322 
			 Standford Hill 407 395 419 416 405 419 424 398 397 437 422 427 
			 Sudbury 481 497 500 523 533 538 515 533 549 545 536 533 
			 Thorn Cross 224 224 223 241 240 245 254 233 229 214 200 211 
			 Usk/Prescoed 410 408 394 406 417 396 392 401 383 380 381 397 
			 Total open prisons 4,306 4,378 4,478 4,514 4,494 4,446 4,491 4,426 4,448 4,517 4,403 4,430 
			 All prison establishments 79,582 79,745 80,261 80,264 79,734 80,164 80,534 80,855 30,997 81,404 79,605 81,142 
			  Note: In addition to the establishments listed above Drake Hall, Motion Hall, Norwich, Reading and Wealstun prisons have small open units, but population data is not available at this level. 
		
	
	The figures for establishment totals are published monthly at the website:
	http://wwwjustice.gov.uk/|publications/populationincustodyhtm
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisoners: Mentally Ill

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of the prison population are currently held in  (a) NHS and  (b) independent sector secure mental health care places; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: I have been asked to reply.
	The information is not available in the format requested.
	Offenders held in secure mental health care settings can be held under various articles of legislation and do not necessarily constitute part of the 'prison population'.

Probation: Wales

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the delivery of unpaid work requirements in probation areas in Wales against delivery timetables in 2005-06;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the delivery of unpaid work requirements in probation areas in Wales against timetables in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08.

Maria Eagle: The National Offender Management Service monitors the commencement of unpaid work requirements in two ways:
	(i) Probation areas are required to provide a quarterly report which monitors the average number of days which elapse between initial health and safety instruction and the first work session for offenders sentenced to unpaid work.
	(ii) Probation areas also undertake monthly sample inspections of case files in order to monitor compliance with National Standards. For offenders sentenced to unpaid work, these inspections monitor the percentage of offenders for whom unpaid work was arranged within the National Standards requirement of 10 working days following sentence.
	In the period October 2005 to March 2006, the average number of days which elapsed between initial health and safety instruction and commencement of work at the work placement for offenders in Wales was 5.5 days. In 2006-07, the figure was 6.2 days and from April 2007 to December 2007, it was 5.5 days. Data for the early part of 2005 and the full year 2007-08 is not available.
	Sample case file inspections during 2005-06 found that, in 90 per cent. of files inspected, unpaid work was arranged within 10 working days following sentence by probation areas in Wales. In 2006-07 and from April 2007 to December 2007, the figure was 94 per cent. Data for the full year 2007-08 is not yet available.
	Figures are obtained from large-scale administrative and monitoring systems which may be subject to data input errors.

Public Service: Misconduct

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when the last conviction for misconduct in public office took place; and how many such convictions took place in each of the last 10 years.

Maria Eagle: The available information held by my Department on defendants found guilty of misconduct in public office, from 1996 to 2006, is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of defendants found guilty of misconduct in public office, England and Wales 1996-2006( 1,2) 
			   Found guilty 
			 1996 — 
			 1997 — 
			 1998 — 
			 1999 2 
			 2000 2 
			 2001 1 
			 2002 2 
			 2003 3 
			 2004 10 
			 2005 3 
			 2006 12 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 
		
	
	Data for 2007 will be available in November 2008.

Robbery: Greater London

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were convicted of robbery in London in  (a) 2000 and  (b) 2006, broken down by age group.

Jack Straw: The information requested on robbery convictions in London in 2000 and 2006 is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of defendants found guilty of robbery by age group, Greater London 2000 and 2006 1,2,3 
			  Age group  2000  2006 
			 10-11 3 8 
			 12-14 146 384 
			 15-17 558 1,141 
			 18-20 276 417 
			 21 and over 473 629 
			 Total 1,456 2,579 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Comprises the Metropolitan and City of London police force areas.

Secure Training Centres: Restraint Techniques

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many injuries sustained by juvenile and young adult offenders held in secure training centres during level  (a) 1,  (b) 2 and  (c) 3 physical control in care restraints required hospital treatment in each year since 2000; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many injuries were sustained by juvenile and young adult offenders held in each secure training centre during level  (a) 1,  (b) 2 and  (c) 3 physical control in care constraints in each year since they were established; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many times level  (a) 1,  (b) 2 and  (c) 3 physical control in care restraints were used in each secure training centre in each year since they were established; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Young adult offenders are not placed in secure training centres or secure children's homes. The restraint techniques known collectively as physical control in care fall into three categories. Phase 1 restraints involve one member of staff only; phase 2, two members of staff; and phase 3, three members of staff.
	The data collected centrally by the Youth Justice Board about use of restraint do not include details of which phase was used. That information could be obtained only by examining the individual incident reports held at each secure training centre, which would involve disproportionate cost.

Secure Training Centres: Violence

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many reports of  (a) prisoner on prisoner and  (b) prisoner on officer assaults were received from each (i) secure training centre, (ii) young offender institution and (iii) secure children's home in each year since 2000; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Young adult offenders are not placed in secure training centres or secure children's homes. The Youth Justice Board began collecting comparative data on assaults by trainees in under-18 young offender institutions, secure training centres and secure children's homes in April 2007. The following table provides this data for the period April 2007 to January 2008. For earlier data, collected by the Prison Service following different recording principles, and relating solely to young offender institutions, I refer the hon. Lady to the reply I gave on 28 November 2007,  Official Report, column 495W to the hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr.Paterson).
	
		
			  Establishment  Assault: trainee on trainee  Assault: trainee on staff 
			  Secure training c entres   
			 Rainsbrook 96 172 
			 Hassockfield 93 57 
			 Oakhill 521 152 
			 Medway 136 233 
			
			  Secure c hildren' s h omes   
			 Aldine House 5 4 
			 Atkinson Unit 62 47 
			 Aycliffe 12 2 
			 Barton Moss 16 12 
			 Clayfields 76 64 
			 Eastmoor 31 12 
			 Gladstone House 13 8 
			 Hillside Secure Centre 12 0 
			 Kyloe House 0 0 
			 Lincolnshire Secure Children's Home 43 65 
			 Orchard Lodge 44 0 
			 Red Bank 85 7 
			 Sutton Place 2 8 
			 Swanick Lodge 0 5 
			 Vinney Green 64 34 
			
			  Under- 18 young offender i nstitutions   
			 Ashfield 186 76 
			 PARC 32 10 
			 Brinsford 34 15 
			 Castington 81 21 
			 Feltham 107 22 
			 Hindley 434 30 
			 Huntercombe 91 20 
			 Lancaster Farms 86 28 
			 Stoke Heath 110 34 
			 Thorn Cross 6 0 
			 Warren Hill 115 60 
			 Werrington 62 21 
			 Wetherby 147 49 
			 Cookham Wood 2 0 
			 Downview 0 0 
			 Eastwood Park 4 0 
			 Foston Hall 4 9 
			 New Hall 11 8

Sentencing: Young Offenders

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average number of days was between arrest and sentence of persistent young offenders in England and Wales by  (a) magistrate courts and  (b) Crown courts in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Overall statistics on Persistent Young Offenders (PYOs) are available from 1997 to 2007. However, figures split by court type, as requested in the question, are only available from 1999 onward.
	These figures are derived from Police National Computer data, and used to monitor the pledge to halve the average time from arrest to sentence for dealing with PYOs in England and Wales from 142 days in 1996 to 71 days.
	The following table shows the number of PYO cases heard, and the average time interval (in days) from arrest to sentence for dealing with these juvenile offenders in England and Wales. It also provides a breakdown based on whether the cases were heard in the magistrates courts or in the Crown court.
	
		
			  Average time from arrest to sentence for persistent young offenders 
			   All  c ourts  Magistrates courts  The Crown court 
			   Cases  Days  Cases  Days  Cases  Days 
			 1997 16,010 141 — — — — 
			 1998 18,605 125 — — — — 
			 1999 21,151 108 18,851 96 2,271 212 
			 2000 23,130 93 21,145 82 1,976 218 
			 2001 25,393 76 23,752 68 1,632 196 
			 2002 26,116 68 24,280 61 1,829 174 
			 2003 26,083 66 24,480 58 1,588 187 
			 2004 26,363 69 24,698 61 1,653 186 
			 2005 27,037 68 25,498 60 1,526 191 
			 2006 28,252 72 26,529 63 1,704 214 
			 2007 30,683 65 28,904 57 1,769 206 
			  Note:  The Police National Computer data can contain records where the type of court in which the case was heard was unknown. This missing information only impacts a very small minority of cases, and was more a feature of the data in the past than in the present. Thus, the sum of cases heard in magistrates courts and the Crown court in each year is less than all cases heard in England and Wales. 
		
	
	The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) publishes the data in the above table as National Statistics. Further information on persistent young offenders can be found on the dedicated page of the MOJ website:
	www.justice.gov.uk/publications/averagetimearresttosentencepyo.htm